Puneet Varma (Editor)

Geomalia

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Order
  
Passeriformes

Genus
  
Zoothera

Higher classification
  
Geomalia

Phylum
  
Chordata

Family
  
Turdidae

Scientific name
  
Geomalia heinrichi

Rank
  
Species

Geomalia creagrushomemontereybaycombfowGeomaliaGeomal

Similar
  
Sulawesi thrush, Great shortwing, Seram thrush, Brown‑winged whistling thrush, Finsch's rufous thrush

The geomalia or Sulawesi mountain thrush (Zoothera heinrichi) is a rare member of the thrush family endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is sometimes classified as Geomalia heinrichi, in which case it is monotypic in the genus Geomalia.

The coloration of the bird is primarily dark brown with chestnut color on the breast. The long legs, long tail and short wings struck the discoverer as reminiscent of laughingthrushes, and the name Geomalia is itself a reference to another, superficially similar Sulawesi endemic, the malia, but the two species are not related.

The scientific name commemorates its discoverer, the German explorer Gerd Heinrich.

Due to its isolation and the difficulty of getting to its habitat, the Sulawesi mountain-thrush is little-studied, and there has been some debate as to whether the species belongs in the thrush family. The species may be threatened by uncontrolled logging and other activities that cause degradation of the Sulawesi highlands, including the grounds of legally protected lands such as Lore Lindu National Park. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

References

Geomalia Wikipedia