Z is for Zoothera

WHITE’S THRUSH ZOOTHERA DAUMA

Birds beginning with “Z” are not only rare alphabetically, but are super-rarities in Britain. The only other species on the British list are two sparrows, Zonotrichia leucophrys and Z. Albicollis all are rare vagrants (lost or accidental) with 100 records or less from Britain¹.

White’s Thrush is a subspecies* of the scaly thrush Zoothera dauma subspecies aurea, named in honour of the famous British Victorian naturalist and Parson Gilbert White². Whilst many thrushes have speckled breasts, scaly thrushes have black chevrons covering their whole body, giving them their namesake reptilian appearance. In flight they have striking black-and-white barred underwings and white tail edges.  At  27-31cm long and 140 grams, they are the largest thrush to visit Britain². Though it’s unlikely to be heard on British soil, the song is rather uneventful for a thrush, just a series ofspaced-out whistles.

Concerning the scientific name, you might think based on the uniqueness of the word and the bird’s appearance that it means something interesting. It doesn’t. ’ Zoothera’ translates into the vague “animal hunter”, confusing since the thrush is not particularly carnivorous.  The origin of “dauma” is unknown!

The scaly thrush usually ranges across Asia, edging into Kazkhstan and Western Russia⁴. They are forest birds, but span widely from the sub-arctic conifer forests, or taiga in Siberia south to the tropical rainforests of Indonesia⁴.  They spend most of their time feeding on the ground, preferring to hide in undergrowth where their plumage camouflages them well amongst leaf litter and dappled shade. Like most thrushes, their diet is omnivorous including insects, worms, slugs, snails and berries².

 White’s thrush itself breeds in the Russian taiga during the long northern summer days and takes a tropical winter retreat to South-East Asia⁵. They usually arrive in Britain when straying from their southward migration in September to November².

Unsurprisingly given the distance from their normal range, White’s thrushes are classed as “accidental” in Britain, which, for birdwatchers translates into the more exciting-sounding “mega-rarity” and has twitchers flocking²ᵻ^,. They are a challenging spot, since they are typically shy and flighty birds. The first known British record is from Hampshire in 1828 and between 1950 to 2007 only 38 records have been made².
The very latest record at time of writing is from St Agnes in the Isles of Scilly last November⁵, (Appropriately to its namesake, in the Parsonage garden)where the closest I got to seeing one was a taxidermy specimen in the Scilly museum, killed on arrival there in December 1886⁶.

Steve William's view-October 2013

EcoGeek's view- March 2013

Zoothera dauma brings us to the finale of the “Avian alphabet of the British Isles”. I have proudly seen it through to the end just as the new year begins. I plan to do a final round-up post, but for the next two weeks I’ll be away in Kenya on a University trip! Though not British, I will of course be covering  the fantastic wildlife I will have hopefully seen when I return. 

It may be the end of the alphabet, but it is not the end of Amateur Ecogeek. A huge thank you and a happy new year to all my readers!

*or separate species, depending on who you believe.

ᵻ  “Twitcher” is too often confused with bird watcher. Twitchers build lists of species they have seen as a hobby (especially rare ones of course), and will travel great distances to see an unusual bird. Birdwatchers simply enjoy watching birds, as it says on the tin.

 References

1- British Ornithologist’s Union. (2013) The British List: List of Species Occurring in Britain. Available from:  http://www.bto.org/about-birds/birdfacts/british-list

2- R.A. Robinson. (2005) BTO BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland: White’s Thrush Zoothera dauma   [Latham, 1790]. (BTO Research Report 407). BTO, Thetford. Available from:  http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob11700.htm

3-BirdLife International. (2014) Species factsheet: Zoothera dauma. Available from: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=32154

4- Internet Bird Collection. (No date) Common Scaly Thrush (Zoothera dauma) . Available from: http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/common-scaly-thrush-zoothera-dauma

5- Birdguides. (2014) White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea).Available from: http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=130233

6- Steve Williams . (2013) Finders report: White's Thrush St.Agnes Isles of Scilly Oct 2013. Available from: http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/finders_report_whites_thrush_scilly.aspx?s_id=330753265

Y is for Yellowhammer

YELLOWHAMMER (EMBERIZA CITRINELLA)

This sunflower yellow bunting compliments a balmy summer’s evening in a British field, when the males belt their song from high perches.  For many listeners, their reedy song is reminiscent of past country life.

Yellowhammers Emberiza citrinella get their name from the male’s bright plumage, with a yellow head and breast and streaky chestnut wings and body. As usual, the female is a bit plainer, but there is still a sunny glow within her streaky brown camouflage. As for the ‘hammer’, this is believed to originate from their Anglo-Saxon name “Amor”, and following old English “Amer” with the yellow a later descriptive addition ^1,2.

The yellowhammer’s reedy, breathless song is famous for the mnemonic  “ a-little-bit-of-bread-and-no cheese”, made public through Enid Blyton’s children’s books³.  Though the song falls a little short, the phrase captures the tumbling notes and finishing wheeze. The male sits proudly on the tallest perch he can find to broadcast his ownership of his territory, repeating his song long into the summer.


Yellowhammers are birds of field and pasture, namely where there are hedgerows for sheltering, singing and nesting. Their summer song provides a traditional soundtrack for the harvest season. Though characterising the warmer months, they are surprisingly winter hardy for a small bird⁴, when they feed in flocks taking advantage of spilt grain and wild plant seeds. Yellowhammers are truly a farmland bird, and their small range keeps them faithful to the fields⁵.

But they are of course found in wilder places, in rough grassland, heaths and scrub. They are more associated with these habitats in the West, exemplified by Their Welsh name is Melyn yr Eithin-“Yellow bird of the gorse”². They may also roost in reedbeds alongside their cousin the reed bunting E. schoeniclus and are occasional visitors to rural garden bird tables in winter when food is scarce⁵.

The yellowhammer’s main diet is seeds, including cereals, though they are not a serious pest. They exploit human offerings of grain from gamebird and livestock feeding stations and historically, leftovers from the harvest which may provide a winter lifeline.  They also eat berries and around a third of their diet is large, juicy insects such as grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars, which the adults also rely on to feed their chicks⁵.

Courtship is a complex game for male yellowhammers. Instead of strutting his stuff like many cock birds, he gives up his usual dominant position over females and starts to play cat and mouse with his chosen mate. He follows her and bounces around vying for attention, but with every annoyed retort by the female, makes a mock retreat before resuming his chase back and forth⁶.

Yellowhammers nest on or near the ground, often at the base of hedgerows, amongst bramble or other scrubby plants. The outer cup is woven from dry grass and the favoured lining is horse hair, meaning the couple sometimes travel far out of their territory to find a paddock or stables⁷*.

Their four beige eggs are painted with chocolate brown squiggles to break up their outline, earning one of their older names “Scribble lark”¹. Yellowhammers produce up to three broods a year³, the latest being most important for building numbers when winters are milder⁷.

Unfortunately, yellowhammers are not increasing . Though once widespread, they have followed the decline of other farmland birds.  Removal  and improper management of hedgerows, leaving short, sparse bushes that offer little cover, different timings and increased efficiency of harvesting and storage leaving little spilt grain in the winter and pesticides, herbicides and intensive pasture management have left fields bare of insects and weed seeds. Yellowhammers have sadly decreased by over 50% between 1970 and 2010 as farms become less hospitable⁵. There is also little of their natural habitat left to go back to, since much of our farmland was originally converted from grassland or heathland.

But it may not be all doom and gloom for this sunshine bird, since yellowhammers greatly benefit from agri-environment management schemes that encourage the maintenance of species-rich field margins, traditional hedgerow management, and sowing bird seed plots to provide winter food^{8, 9}. Trials show that even if these are adopted on scattered farms, they benefit yellowhammer populations in the wider landscape⁸.

Though we’ll never completely go back to past farming techniques, with beauty and charm on it’s side, the yellowhammer is a great candidate for farmland conservation. With a little help, it’s cheesy song could remain soundtrack of the British countryside.

*Before human agriculture, yellowhammers would have sought hair from wild horses Equus ferus which lived in Europe until the early 20^th century.

References

1-  Fransesca Greenoak. (1979) All the Birds of the Air. A. Brown and Sons.

2- Mark Cocker and Richard Mabey. (2005) Birds Britannica. London, Chatto and Windus
3- R.A. Robinson. (2005) BTO BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland: Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella   [Linnaeus, 1758]. (BTO Research Report 407). BTO, Thetford. Available from:  http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob18570.htm

4- Peter Holden and J.T.R. Sharrock. (1988) The RSPB Book of British Birds. London, Papermac.

5- Peter Holden and Tim Cleeves. (2010) RSPB Handbook of British Birds (Third Edition). London, A&C Black.

6-  Margaret Bastock. (1967) Courtship: An Ethological Study. Chicago, Aldine Publication Co. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BJd94aGwhCgC&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=yellowhammer+courtship&source=bl&ots=uf87vVDDjv&sig=81VE5P0Bo6AMmOmhP4ZIagDKbGI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FqPFUsm6G4iShgfX7oCIDg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=yellowhammer%20courtship&f=false

7- John Welford. (2010) Facts about yellowhammers. Available from: http://www.critters360.com/index.php/facts-about-yellowhammers-8827/

8- RSPB. (2009) Farming: Advice for Farmers: Yellowhammer. Available from http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming/advice/details.aspx?id=204089

9-RSPB. (No date) Our work: Projects: Yellowhammer Recovery Project. Available from: http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/projects/details/220835-yellowhammer-recovery-project#achievements