The slaty-backed nightingale-thrush (Catharus fuscater) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.[2]
| Slaty-backed nightingale-thrush | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In Costa Rica | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Turdidae |
| Genus: | Catharus |
| Species: | C. fuscater |
| Binomial name | |
| Catharus fuscater (Lafresnaye, 1845) | |
 | |
Taxonomy and systematics
editThe slaty-backed nightingale-thrush was originally described in 1845 by as Myioturdus fuscater.[3] It was later reassigned to its present genus Catharus that had been erected in 1850.[2]
The slaty-backed nightingale's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these seven subspecies:[2][4][5]
- C. f. hellmayri Berlepsch, 1902
- C. f. mirabilis Nelson, 1912
- C. f. sanctaemartae Ridgway, 1904
- C. f. fuscater (Lafresnaye, 1845)
- C. f. opertaneus Wetmore, 1955
- C. f. caniceps Chapman, 1924
- C. f. mentalis Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1876
The Clements taxonomy recognizes four more subspecies:[6]
- C. f. arcanus Halley, Catanach, Klicka & Weckstein, 2023[7]
- C. f. tenebris Halley, Catanach, Klicka & Weckstein, 2023
- C. f. berlepschi Lawrence, 1887
- C. f. nebulus Halley, Catanach, Klicka & Weckstein, 2023
Halley et al. separate C. f. arcanus from C. f. mirabilis and C. f. tenebris from C. f. caniceps. They treat berlepschi as a full species and nebulus as a subspecies of it.[7]
This article follows the seven-subspecies model with one exception in the Distribution section.
Description
edit
The slaty-backed nightingale-thrush is 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long.[8][9] Specimens from Ecuador and Colombia weighed 30.5 to 38 g (1.1 to 1.3 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies C. f. fuscater have a dark slate gray head with a bright orange to yellowish orange eye-ring and a white to gray throat. Their upperparts are dark slate gray. Their underparts are mostly dark slate gray; the center of the breast and belly have varying amounts of white mixed in and sometimes a yellowish tint to the white.[10]
The other subspecies of the slaty-backed nightingale-thrush differ from the nominate and each other thus:[10]
- C. f. hellmayri: more blackish upperparts than nominate, mouse gray throat, darker underparts
- C. f. mirabilis: essentially like the nominate
- C. f. sanctaemartae: upperparts like nominate but less white on underparts
- C. f. opertaneus: the limited number of specimens are browner than nominate
- C. f. caniceps: somewhat lighter upperparts than nominate and less white on underparts
- C. f. mentalis: brownish wash on upperparts and darker underparts than nominate
All subspecies usually have a white iris though it is sometimes cinnamon brown. They have bright orange bills.
Distribution and habitat
editThe slaty-backed nightingale-thrush has a disjunct distribution. Sources differ widely on the subspecies' ranges, in part due to the additional subspecies listed by Clements.
The IOC places the subspecies thus:[2]
- C. f. hellmayri: Costa Rica and western Panama
- C. f. mirabilis: eastern Panama
- C. f. sanctaemartae: northern Colombia
- C. f. fuscater: eastern Panama, Colombia to western Ecuador, and western Venezuela
- C. f. opertaneus: western Colombia
- C. f. caniceps: northwestern and central Peru
- C. f. mentalis: southeastern Peru and northwestern Bolivia
Clements provides more detail and several differences. The four additional subspecies are also included here:[6]
- C. f. hellmayri: mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama's Chiriquí and Veruagas provinces
- C. f. mirabilis: eastern Panama's Cerro Pirre and vicinity
- C. f. arcanus: "Serranía de Majé eastward to Cerro Tacarcuna (eastern Panama)"
- C. f. sanctaemartae: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia
- C. f. fuscater: Serranía del Perijá on the Colombia-Venezuela border and eastern Andes of Venezuela southward to Bogotá in Colombia
- C. f. opertaneus: "western Andes of Colombia (Antioquia southward to Tolima), and east-central Andes in Napo, Ecuador"
- C. f. tenebris: "Rio Chinchipe watershed of southeastern Ecuador and northern Peru"
- C. f. berlepschi "western Andes of Ecuador from Carchi to El Oro"
- C. f. caniceps: El Oro to northwestern Peru
- C. f. nebulus: eastern Andean slope of Peru from Amazonas to Cuzco departments
- C. f. mentalis: Andes from Puno Department in Peru into Bolivia's La Paz Department
Field guides to the birds of several countries generally matched the two taxonomic systems' range descriptions; some provided even more detail. In Costa Rica the species is shown on both the Caribbean and Pacific slopes of the central mountain ranges.[11] In the Venezuelan Andes the range is detailed as from southern Táchira north through Mérida, northwestern Barinas, Trujillo and southeastern Lara.[9] The species is shown in all three ranges of the Colombian Andes though not along their full lengths.[12] In Ecuador it is shown in a continuous band along the western Andean slope and spottily on the eastern slope.[13] It is shown and described in the Peruvian Andes on the western slope only in the northwest but along almost the entire length of the country on the eastern slope.[8]
One source states that the slaty-backed nightingale-thrush inhabits montane evergreen forest in the subtropical zone between 800 and 2,300 m (2,600 and 7,500 ft).[14] Another says it "inhabits the dense undergrowth of moist and humid forests of the subtropical and lower montane zones" between 600 and 3,250 m (2,000 and 10,700 ft).[10] A field guide adds that the species favors streamside locations.[8] Within individual countries it ranges from 800 to 1,800 m (2,600 to 5,900 ft) in Costa Rica, 1,500 to 2,900 m (4,900 to 9,500 ft) in Venezuela and Peru, 800 to 2,800 m (2,600 to 9,200 ft) in Colombia, and mostly 1,200 to 2,600 m (3,900 to 8,500 ft) in Ecuador.[11][9][12][13][8]
Behavior
editMovement
editThe slaty-backed nightingale-thrush is a year-round resident.[14]
Feeding
editBreeding
editThe slaty-backed nightingale-thrush's breeding season has not been fully described but includes January in Peru, March to July in central Colombia, and April and May in Panama. Its nest is a cup made from rootlets, moss, and leaves; apparently the female alone builds it. It is typically placed in dense vegetation within about 3 m (10 ft) of the ground. The clutch is one or two eggs that are pale blue with darker markings. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.[10]
Vocalization
editA lyric description of the slaty-backed nightingale-thrush's song is "a dreamy, mesmerizing series of low, flute like phrases...eer-lee or ur-eee-lee, phrases halting and hypnotic, as if disembodied from [the] bird and floating eerily through the forest".[9] Another description is "melodious and leisurely...a series of simple phrases, e.g, toh-toh-tee...tee-toh or tlee-to-tleedelee...to wee-tlee?".[13] Among its calls are "a catlike meeaaaaaah or meeow", "a more buzzing wheeety or whewty weer", a high-pitched whistling poeeee", and "a low, grating khroum-khroum".[10]
Status
editThe IUCN has assessed the slaty-backed nightingale-thrush as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered common in Costa Rica, locally common in Venezuela, fairly common in Colombia, more numerous in western Ecuador than eastern, and uncommon in Peru.[11][9][12][13][8] "Clearing of montane forests for coffee cultivation has negatively affected [the] Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush in the vicinity of Volcán Barú, Panama."[10]
References
edit- 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Slaty-backed Nightingale-thrush Catharus fuscater". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T22708635A131948844. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22708635A131948844.en. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (March 2025). "Thrushes". IOC World Bird List. v 15.1. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ↑ de Lafresnaye, Frédéric (1845). "Mêlanges ornithologiques". Revue zoologique (in Latin and French). Société cuvierienne: 341. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
- ↑ AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025 retrieved 11 June 2025
- ↑ 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 12 October 2025
- 1 2 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 3 November 2025
- 1 2 Halley, M. R., Catanach, T. A., Klicka, J., and J. D. Weckstein (2023). "Integrative taxonomy reveals hidden diversity in the Catharus fuscater (Passeriformes: Turdidae) complex in Central and South America". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 199: 228–262. : https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad031
- 1 2 3 4 5 Schulenberg, T.S.; Stotz, D.F.; Lane, D.F.; O'Neill, J.P.; Parker, T.A. III (2010). Birds of Peru. Princeton Field Guides (revised and updated ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 534. ISBN 978-0691130231.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela (second ed.). Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 706.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Halley, M. R. (2024). Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus fuscater), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg and S. M. Billerman, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sbnthr1.01.1 retrieved February 7, 2026
- 1 2 3 Garrigues, Richard; Dean, Robert (2007). The Birds of Costa Rica. Ithaca: Zona Tropical/Comstock/Cornell University Press. pp. 246–247. ISBN 978-0-8014-7373-9.
- 1 2 3 McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
- 1 2 3 4 Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 572–573. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
- 1 2 Check-list of North American Birds (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. p. 502.
External links
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- Slaty-backed nightingale-thrush photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)