Pantepui thrush

Pantepui thrush
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Turdus
Species:
T. murinus
Binomial name
Turdus murinus
Salvin, 1885

The pantepui thrush (Turdus murinus) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae.[1] It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The pantepui thrush was originally described by Osbert Salvin in 1885 with its current binomial Turdus murinus. Its type locality is Merumé, Mount Roraima, Guyana.[3] Following a 1931 publication it was reassigned as a subspecies of the black-billed thrush (T. ignobilis).[4]

The pantepui thrush's further taxonomy is unsettled. Following molecular phylogenetics studies published in the 2010s, the South American Classification Committee, the IOC, AviList, and the Clements taxonomy recognized it again as a full species.[5][6][7][1][8][9] However, as of late 2025 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retains it as a subspecies of the black-billed thrush.[10]

The pantepui thrush is monotypic.[1]

Etymology

The generic name Turdus is derived from Latin, meaning "thrush", and the specific epithet murinus comes from the Latin term for "mouse-gray".[11]

Description

The pantepui thrush is about 20 cm (7.9 in) long and weighs 52 to 81 g (1.8 to 2.9 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly dusky-brown head with a white-streaked throat. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are dusky-brown. Their breast and upper flanks are a much paler dusky-brown than their upperparts. Their belly is dark ash-gray and their lower flanks and undertail coverts white. They have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and dark gray to blackish legs and feet.[12]

Distribution and habitat

The pantepui thrush is found on the lower slopes of tepuis in the southeastern Venezuelan states of Bolívar and Amazonas, in far western Guyana, and in extreme northern Brazil. The tepuis include Cerro Duida, Cerro Roraima, the Merumé Mountains, Auyán-tepui, Ptari-tepui, Sororopán-tepui, Cerro Urutani, Cerro de la Neblina, Cerro Yavi, Cerro Guanay, Cerro Camani, and Cerro Guaiquinima. The species' habitat has not been extensively studied. However, it appears to favor the edges of humid forest and early successional areas.[12][13]

Behavior

Movement

The pantepui thrush is believed to be a sedentary year-round resident.[12]

Feeding

The pantepui thrush's diet and foraging behavior have not been studied. They are assumed to be similar to those of the black-billed thrush, which see here.[12]

Breeding

Nothing is known about the pantepui thrush's breeding biology.[12]

Vocalization

The pantepui thrush's song is not well known but is assumed to be similar to that of the black-billed thrush. Its calls are better known and described as "a nasal, rising queek!; [a] soft prip, [and] when disturbed a rather loud Quee-kipper-kipper-kipper" as it flies away.[13]

Status

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has not assessed the pantepui thrush separately from the black-billed thrush sensu lato.[14] It is considered "uncommon to locally fairly common" in Venezuela.[13] There are only a few records in Brazil.[15] "Given the patchy distribution of the species, and (presumed) habitat specificity, the conservation status of this species may need re-evaluation once more data are available."[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (March 2025). "Thrushes". IOC World Bird List. v 15.1. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  2. ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 29 November 2025. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved 30 November 2025
  3. ^ Salvin, Osbert (1885). "A List of Birds obtained by Mr. Henry Whitely in British Guiana". The Ibis (in Latin and English). III (5): 197–198. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1885.tb06246.x. ISSN 0019-1019. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  4. ^ Chapman, Frank C. (1931). "The upper zonal birdlife of Mts. Roraima and Duida". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. LXIII: 110–111. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  5. ^ Cerqueira, P.V.; Dantas Santos, M.P.; Aleixo, A. (2016). "Phylogeography, inter-specific limits and diversification of Turdus ignobilis". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 97: 177–186. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.01.005. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 26797171.
  6. ^ Avendaño, J.E.; Arbeláez-Cortés, E.; Cadena, C.D. (2017). "On the importance of adequate geographic and taxonomic sampling in phylogeography: a reevaluation of diversification in a Neotropical thrush". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 111: 87–97. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.03.020. ISSN 1055-7903.
  7. ^ Stiles, F. Gary (March 2019). "Recognize Turdus murinus and T. arthuri as species distinct from T. ignobilis". South American Classification Committee.
  8. ^ AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025 retrieved June 11, 2025
  9. ^ Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2025. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2025. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 3, 2025
  10. ^ HBW and BirdLife International (2025). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 10. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/about-our-science/taxonomy#birdlife-s-taxonomic-checklist retrieved October 12, 2025
  11. ^ Jobling, J.A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Londres. Turdus p. 393; murinus p. 262. ISBN 9781408133262.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Greeney, H. F., N. Collar, A. Bonan Barfull, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Pantepui Thrush (Turdus murinus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkbthr4.01 retrieved February 20, 2026
  13. ^ a b c Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela (second ed.). Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 712.
  14. ^ BirdLife International (2025). "Black-billed Thrush Turdus ignobilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2025 e.T103890779A281020497. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-2.RLTS.T103890779A281020497.en. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  15. ^ van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 350–351. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7.
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