Himalayan Thrush

Open encyclopedia reference

The Himalayan thrush or Himalayan forest thrush (Zoothera salimalii) is a species of bird described in 2016 and separated out from the alpine thrush Zoothera mollissima with which they were formerly lumped. The species is separated on the basis of phylogenetic studies that suggest that the population diverged from the common ancestor at least 3 million years ago (estimates vary from 3-6 mya). The alpine thrush (Zoothera mollissima in the restricted sense) breeds above the tree line whereas the Himalayan thrush breeds in forested habitats. The species breeds from Sikkim and Darjeeling in India and extends east into Tibet and further east into northwest Yunnan in China. The species differs in its song from that of the alpine thrush. The Himalayan thrush has a more musical call while that of the Alpine thrush is raspy and grating. The species name is given in honour of the Indian ornithologist Sálim Ali.

Wikipedia contributors, Himalayan thrush; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:26:13.090075+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Zoothera salimalii Alström, Rasmussen, J. Zhao, J. Xu, Dalvi, T. Cai, Y. Guan, R. Zhang, Kalyakin et al., 2016

Name authority

Alström, Rasmussen, J. Zhao, J. Xu, Dalvi, T. Cai, Y. Guan, R. Zhang, Kalyakin et al., 2016

Common name

Himalayan Thrush

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Turdidae

Genus

Zoothera

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familyTurdidae Rafinesque, 1815
11. genusZoothera Vigors, 1832
12. speciesZoothera salimalii Alström, Rasmussen, J. Zhao, J. Xu, Dalvi, T. Cai, Y. Guan, R. Zhang, Kalyakin et al., 2016

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Zoothera. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 168 records assigned to Turdidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Alström, Per, Pamela C. Rasmussen, Chao Zhao, Jingzi Xu, Shashank Dalvi, Tianlong Cai, et al. (2016). Integrative taxonomy of the Plain-backed Thrush (Zoothera mollissima) complex (Aves, Turdidae) reveals cryptic species, including a new species. Avian Research, Vol. 7, No. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:TX8RP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.