The Spot-winged Thrush, Zoothera spiloptera, is an Asian thrush, a group within the large thrush family Turdidae. It is an endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. This uncommon species breeds in hill rainforests, and to a lesser extent in drier woodlands, at altitudes between 500 and 2000 m.
Identification
Adults of this 27 cm thrush are light brown above with a double wing bar of white spots. The pale face has two dark bars. The underparts are white with heavy spotting. The bill is black and legs are yellow. The song is a rich and varied whistling. Young birds have buff streaking on the upperparts, and the face and the underparts are light brown with heavy streaking.
Behaviour
It is rather shy but also inquisitive; a singing male easily decoyed within sight by whistling an imitation of its song, which is rich, varied and sweet-toned performance, usually uttered from a perch in the lower branches of the tree-canopy. It feeds on insects, worms, etc., and probably also on berries. They have two breeding seasons. One is in March-April and other is in August-November. The nest is placed in a fork of a sapling, balanced on cardamom-fronds, or in the crown of a tree-fern, etc., in forest. The two eggs laid are measure about 26.8×19.7 mm.
Locations
This thrush is found throughout the hills, ascending to 7,000 feet; throughout the low-country wet zone; and in scattered localities in the dry zone, but its main habitat seems to lie between the 500 and 5,000 feet contours. It is a bird of forest, or well-wooded country.
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