Wood Thrush / Hylocichla mustelina

Wood Thrush / Hylocichla mustelina

Wood Thrush

SCI Name:  Hylocichla mustelina
Protonym:  T.(urdus) mustelinus Syst.Nat. 1 pt2 p.817 dSM
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Turdidae /
Taxonomy Code:  woothr
Type Locality:  Noveboraco [= New York, vide Amer. Orn. Union, 1931, Check-list North Amer. Birds, ed. 4, p. 257] .
Author:  
Publish Year:  1789
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

HYLOCICHLA
(Turdidae; Wood Thrush H. mustelina) Gr. ὑλη hulē  woodland, forest; κιχλη kikhlē  thrush; "Hylocichla.  Smallest species.  Bill short, broad at base; much depressed.  Tarsi long and slender, longer than middle toe and claw by the additional length of the claw; outstretched legs reaching nearly to tip of tail.  Body slender.  Color: above olivaceous or reddish, beneath whitish; breast spotted; throat without spots.   ...   Of the preceding sections into which I have divided Turdus, the first one is possibly entitled to full generic rank. It is intended to include the small North American species, with Turdus mustelinus, Gm., at the head as type, which are closely connected on the one side with Catharus, by their lengthened tarsi, and with Turdus by the shape of the wing. The bills are shorter, more depressed, and broader at base than in typical Turdus, so much so that the species have frequently been described under Muscicapa." (Baird 1864); "Hylocichla Baird, Rev. Amer. Bds., 1, p. 12, 1864—type, by orig. desig., Turdus mustelinus Gmelin." (Hellmayr, 1934, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. VII, p. 452).  Recent work suggests that this genus should be included in Catharus.
Synon. Philomeloides.

mustelina / mustelinus
L. mustelinus  like a weasel (i.e. chestnut, or tawny, and white)  < mustela  weasel  < dim. mus, muris  mouse.
● ex “Tawny Thrush” of Latham 1783, and Pennant 1785 (Hylocichla).
● ex “Great Pied Mountain Finch” of Willughby 1676, and Ray 1713, “Pied Mountain Finch” of Albin 1731-1738, and “Tawny Bunting” of Latham 1783 (syn. Plectrophanes nivalis).