Black-breasted Thrush

The call of the black-breasted thrush has been described as "sweet mellow" and "melodious", with their musical phrases spanning 3–8 notes. They consume insects, molluscs and berries. The food they gather is usually from the ground, although they occasionally fly to fruit trees. Their time of breeding differs depending on the country in which they are situated. Black-breasted thrushes in India reproduce from April to July; those in Myanmar do so from April to June; in China, these birds mate from May until June.

The bird is found from north-eastern India to northern Vietnam. Their preferred habitats are tropical and subtropical montane forests that are moist. Other suitable habitats that are less important include tropical and subtropical dry forests – for native populations that are resident – as well as tropical/subtropical moist shrubland and mangroves located above the level of high tide. In southwestern China, these birds can also be found in hilly areas. They are typically found at relatively high elevations of between 1,220 metres (4,000 ft) to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high. However, they tend to descend to lower altitudes during the winter at around 200 metres (660 ft). The black-breasted thrush has been placed on the Least Concern category of the IUCN Red List, even though its population has been decreasing throughout the last ten years. This is because the reduction in the estimated population is not swift enough to merit Vulnerable status under the IUCN criterion for population trend, which is a decline of more than 30% in ten years or three generations The population decline has been attributed to continuing "destruction and degradation" of the bird's natural habitat. The size of its distribution range is over 752,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi).