Another rarity shows up at Jim’s Jungle Retreat – Dark-Sided Thrush
Jim’s Jungle Retreat is a 15-acre mixed forest habitat with several water bodies. Over the years, there have been more than 250 species of birds recorded at the Retreat during various seasons. As the habitat develops and acquires more and more wilderness elements, birds that are rather rare to come across in the area or are found in niche micro habitats have been staging their presence at the Retreat. Latest to join the club is the Dark-sided Thrush.
Dark-sided Thrush is a skulking bird, best seen in thick undergrowth on the edge of forested streams and nearby dense vegetation. Recently, some bird activity, in a patch of heavy undergrowth at the edge of Jim’s Jungle Retreat boundary with the buffer zone of Corbett Tiger Reserve, caught the attention of our naturalist Jeewan Rautela. He followed the skulking bird and after a few patient minutes of wait, the bird came hopping to the edge of the vegetation to reveal its identity as a member of the thrush family. As the bird flew into a low tree, Jeewan was able to take some record images. The images were shown to our Chief Naturalist Manoj Sharma who was delighted to identify the bird as Dark-sided Thrush, a first record of the species at Jim’s Jungle Retreat. The bird was later observed briefly again by Manoj, flying from a patch of thick ground vegetation into a tree.
Dark-sided Thrush is a difficult bird to find in Corbett Tiger Reserve and we are delighted to add this star bird species to our list of birds of Jim’s Jungle Retreat.