The Kurrichane thrush is fairly common within the north-eastern part of the southern African region and they are often to be seen hopping about in the undergrowth. Their preferred habitat includes woodland, riverine bush and parks and gardens that have sufficient ground cover. Its range is expanding due to its adaptation to the man-modified environment.
Kurrichane thrushes have a length of approximately 23 cm and the sexes are alike in both size and plumage. They have grey upper parts and tail; the throat is white with a distinctive dark malar stripe; the upper breast is grey-brown; under parts are orange and the vent is cream. The bill is bright orange; eyes are brown with an orange eye ring; legs and feet are orange.
The Kurrichane thrush is usually found singly and forages mainly on the ground, feeding on insects and some fruit. It may also hawk insects from the air.
The call of the Kurrichane thrush is a series of loud and tuneful whistled notes.
The Kurrichane thrush is monogamous and they build a nest of grass and fine roots onto a mud base. The whole nest may be lined with mud. The female lays a clutch of one to four pale green to blue eggs eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately thirteen days.
The scientific binomial for the Kurrichane thrush is Turdus libonyana; Turdus from the Latin for “a thrush”, and libonyana being a derived from a tribal name in the Tswana language. Thus the name describes a thrush associated with the Tswana people, which is probably not as odd as it sounds.
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