The Izu Island Thrush
Turdus celaenops is an endemic Japanese species that breeds and inhabits all the year round in the Izu and Tokara islands. The distribution is sporadic throughout the range. Until the 1980s, substantial populations were found on the breeding islands of Miyake, Mikura and Aogashima in the Izu group, but these populations are being adversely impacted due to predation by exotic species, and also by recent volcanic eruptions. Some winter records of this species have been obtained on the Izu and Boso Peninsulas, and on Hatsushima Island in Kanagawa Prefecture. The Tokara population has also been noted to decrease during the winter months. In the past, some observations recorded as this species may actually have been of the large Japanese Brown Thrush
Turdus chrysolaus orii or the Japanese Brown Thrush
T. c. chyrsolaus. In this paper, photographs of two individuals obtained in Chiba Prefecture are examined, and determined to be of the Izu Island Thrush. One individual (Fig. 1) was observed around Choshi City, on the Pacific Ocean Coast, from December 15th 1983 to April 7th 1984. The black coloring on the head and tail stood out distinctly against the reddish brown on the head and chest. In addition, the eye ring was thick, and distinctive yellowish brown. The second individual was observed at Sanbu Town, on the Boso Peninsula, from April 25th to May 2th, 1992. Distinguishing characteristics were similar to the first individual, including distinctive yellow beak and legs. These two records clearly confirm that the Izu Island Thrush does winter in Chiba Prefecture, and will help to clarify the seasonal movements of this endemic species.
For the Izu Island Thrush, the wing point is either at P6 or P7, while on both subspecies of the Japanese Brown Thrush the point is at P7 or P8. In the Japanese Brown Thrush subspecies, P5 is always shorter than P9, while in the the Izu Islands Thrush P5 may be the same size as P9, or slightly shorter, or even a bit longer than P9 (Fig. 3).
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