Orange-Headed Thrush

We were in Keoladeo NP in India with our guide, Ashok, driving in a motorized rickshaw, when Ashok got quite excited about an orange headed bird with a blue body that popped up along the side of the dirt road. "An orange-headed thrush" he said with enthusiasm. I tried to quickly pull up my camera for a photo and the bird disappeared below the berm on the road which bordered on a swamp. The rickshaw stopped, we got out to look over the berm and the bird flew across the road into the swamp on the other side. I could see the bird moving around, then lost it. Ashok asked to borrow my camera and took several photos. One photo worked, the others were blurry. We spent quite a bit more time looking for the elusive bird as it moved about the swampy ground through fallen trees and some brush. I got such a good view of it on the side of the road, just not quick enough with my camera.

An illustration of nominate ssp. citrina from Birds of the World. 

There are about 12 subspecies of the orange-headed thrush, all beautiful, and quite varied. It is often found in damp areas, near streams, in moist broadleaved evergreen woodlands, with a medium-density undergrowth of bushes and ferns. The nominate subspecies, which I saw, has an entirely orange head and underparts, grayish-blue upperparts and wings, slate-colored bill and legs, and white undertail coverts and some on the wings. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Citrina, the nominate ssp, breeds from northern India east along the Himalayas to eastern Bangladesh and into western and northern Myanmar. It winters further south in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Other ssp are even more beautiful, such as cyanota, which has a white throat and face sides, with two black stripes running downwards from below the eyes. 

The "white-throated" orange-headed thrush, ssp cyanota, illustration from Birds of the World. 

Ssp. melli has the black stripes but the throat and face sides are in-between white and orange. 

Ssp. melli from Birds of the World. 

It is a shy secretive birds usually occurring alone or in pairs. It has a swift, silent flight, but when disturbed will often sit motionless until the threat has passed. Just stunning. I would love to see more of them.