THE groundscraper thrush is a fairly common South African resident but is absent from the south of South Africa, KZN coastal belt and dry western parts.
These thrushes inhabit savanna, woodland, thornveld, exotic plantations, cultivated clearings and farmyards.
Their call is a varied array of a few quick whistles and harsh notes, plus four or five sharp clucking alarm calls. Their food preferences are insects, molluscs and other invertebrates.
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Groundscraper thrushes are found solitary or in pairs. They are usually bold, especially around human settlements, foraging on lawns, short grassland, clearings and plantation floors. They run well on the ground, flicking one wing at a time every now and then. When disturbed, they fly to a tree or post with a chuckling callnote.
Breeding takes place from September to November where two to three pale green eggs spotted with red brown blotches are laid in a bulky, bowl-shaped nest. They use grass, twigs, herbs and feathers to line it and like the fork of a tree two to six metres above the ground.
The incubation and nestling periods are unrecorded.
The bird’s African name is nwadlodloma and in Afrikaans, gevlekte lyster.
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