White-backed Thrush
Turdus kessleri
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyTurdidae (Túrdids)
- GenusTurdus (Typical Thrushes)
- SpeciesTurdus kessleri (White-backed Thrush)
The white-backed thrush or Kessler's thrush (Turdus kessleri) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is primarily resident or a short-distance altitudinal migrant, found in central China in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, eastern Tibet, and northwestern Yunnan, and also a scarce winter visitor in Bhutan, northeasternmost India (Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim), and eastern Nepal. It breeds in alpine scrub on rocky sites at altitudes of 3600–4500 metres, and descends down to 2100 metres, rarely to 1500 metres, in winter. It is a large thrush, 28 cm long (same size as a mistle thrush). The male has a black head, wings, and tail, and a pink body, dark pink below and pale pink to nearly white on the mantle (thus superficially resembling a rosy starling in plumage pattern, though larger and longer-tailed than that). The female is similar but drabber, with a dark brown head and the pink tinged greyer. Wikipedia →
40–50% of wildlife watchers report a White-backed Thrush sighting in Jiuzhaigou National Park, based on 70 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Jiuzhaigou National Park
Chestnut Thrush
Turdus rubrocanus
Chinese Thrush
Turdus mupinensis
Red-throated Thrush
Turdus ruficollis
Chinese Blackbird
Turdus mandarinus
Gray-winged Blackbird
Turdus boulboul
Long-tailed Thrush
Zoothera dixoni
Scaly Thrush
Zoothera dauma
Elliot's Laughingthrush
Trochalopteron elliotii
Buff-barred Warbler
Phylloscopus pulcher
Chinese White-browed Rosefinch
Carpodacus dubius
White-throated Redstart
Phoenicurus schisticeps
Gray-headed Bullfinch
Pyrrhula erythaca
📅 Monthly Probability
🌅 When They're Spotted
Most active at dawn and dusk · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a White-backed Thrush in Jiuzhaigou National Park?
About 46% of wildlife watchers report a White-backed Thrush sighting in Jiuzhaigou National Park, based on 70 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see White-backed Thrush in Jiuzhaigou National Park?
May has the highest sighting rate for White-backed Thrush in Jiuzhaigou National Park in our monthly data.