Abyssinian Ground-Thrush

Appearance

The Abyssinian ground thrush is an attractive but rather secretive species. The adults are a deep rufous orange on the head and face with a distinct white eye ring, the orange colour becomes les rufous on the breast and flanks and the upperparts are olive brown except for the orange-brown rump and tail. On the folded wing it shows two prominent white wingbars from the tips to the coverts. Immature birds tend to be paler and duller than the adults. They measure 19–20 cm in length and weigh 43–65 g.

Distribution

There are six currently recognised subspecies of Abyssinian ground thrush and they are listed below with their distributions:

⤷ "Geokichla piaggiae hadii" : South Sudan in the Imatong and Dongotona Mountains.
⤷ "Geokichla piaggiae piaggiae" : eastern South Sudan in the Boma Plateau and Ethiopia south to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern and western Kenya.
⤷ "Geokichla piaggiae ruwenzorii" : Ruwenzori Mountains in western Uganda.
⤷ "Geokichla piaggiae tanganjicae" : Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, south western Uganda, Rwanda and northern Burundi.
⤷ "Geokichla piaggiae kilimensis" : Central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.
⤷ "Geokichla piaggiae rowei" : Northern Tanzania.

Habitat

The Abyssinian ground thrush occurs in the undergrowth of evergreen montane forest in high rainfall regions between 1,800 and 3,300 m, mostly above 2,500 m, although occasionally found lower. It may also occur in bamboo forest, e.g. on Mount Kenya, or in exotic pine plantations in Ethiopia.