Pantepui Thrush

Uncommon to locally fairly common but long-overlooked and under-recorded; its plain plumage and remote tepui-slope habitat have kept it 'under the radar.' A worthwhile tick now that it is split from Black-billed Thrush.

Nondescript medium thrush: grayish-brown above, pale whitish belly, with a pale throat showing indistinct/modest streaking. Dark bill. Sexes similar. ID rests on the drab, contrastless plumage combined with highland tepui range rather than any bold mark.

Highland species of middle and upper elevations of tepuis and associated mountains; uses humid forest borders, clearings, savanna with gallery woodland and edge/second-growth habitats on the slopes.

Usually seen singly or in pairs; typical Turdus skulking-to-semi-open foraging on the ground and at forest edge for fruit and invertebrates. Often most evident when singing from cover at dawn/dusk.

Song a typical thrushlike series of leisurely musical phrases. Listen on Xeno-canto / Macaulay Library — search 'Turdus murinus' or 'Pantepui Thrush' (note: older recordings may be filed under Black-billed Thrush, Turdus ignobilis, since this was recently split).

Sell this one on rarity-of-tick, not looks: it's a recent split and a clean Pantepui endemic. Pin it by song at dawn on the upper slopes and warn clients off similar plain lowland thrushes by emphasizing elevation.