Scaly-breasted thrasher

Appearance

The scaly-breasted thrasher is approximately 23 cm long and weighs 53 to 98 g with an average weight of 67 g. With its rather short and slightly decurved bill, this thrasher resembles a thrush. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark gray-brown head and upperparts with a reddish tinge on the rump. Their tail is a darker brownish black and its outer feathers have white tips. The folded wing shows a single white bar. Their chin and throat are whitish with brown streaks. The underparts are whitish and the chest and flanks have bold gray-brown markings that give the eponymous scaly appearance.

The other subspecies differ mostly in size and the intensity of their upperparts' color. "A. f. hypenema" is the largest and is paler than the nominate. "A. f. schwartzi" is mid-sized and has more white on its tail. "A. f. vincenti" is the smallest and is darker overall than the nominate. "A. f. atlantica" compared to the nominate is more reddish brown above and has less white in the tail.

Distribution

The subspecies of scaly-breasted thrasher are found thus:

⤷ "A. f. hypenema", northern Lesser Antilles from Saint Martin south through Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Antigua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Montserrat to Guadeloupe; possibly extinct on Sint Eustatius and Barbuda
⤷ "A. f. vincenti", Saint Vincent, and vagrant to the Grenadines
⤷ "A. f. atlantica", Barbados
⤷ "A. f. schwartzi", Saint Lucia
⤷ "A. f. fusca", Dominica, Grenada, and Martinique

Status

The IUCN has assessed the scaly-breasted thrasher as being of Least Concern. It is fairly common to common through most of its range though rare on Grenada.

Habitat

The scaly-breasted thrasher primarily inhabits forest and semi-open woodland and is also found around human settlements.

Reproduction

The scaly-breasted thrasher breeds in May and June. It builds a cup nest in a bush or tree. The clutch size is two or three.

Food

The scaly-breasted thrasher forages in trees; on different islands it hunts at different levels from low down to high in the canopy. It is omnivorous; its diet includes arthropods, fruits, and berries. It appears to eat a larger percentage of vegetable foods than other thrashers.