# Somali thrush (Turdus ludoviciae)

> The Somali thrush, a bird found only in the juniper forests of northern Somalia: what it looks like, where it lives, and why its Red List status changed from Critically Endangered to Least Concern.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/nature/somali-thrush/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

The Somali thrush (*Turdus ludoviciae*), also called the Somali blackbird, is a songbird of the thrush family, Turdidae. It is endemic to Somalia ([Wikipedia, Somali thrush, backup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_thrush)). Lort Phillips described it in 1895 ([GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/species/5789051)).

## What it looks like

It has a black head and breast, a yellow bill, a brown back and wings, and a grey belly with red sides ([Wikipedia, Somali thrush, backup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_thrush)).

## Where it lives

It lives in mountain juniper woodland and the open ground between, at 1,300 to 2,000 m (same source). Most of its shared records come from Sanaag (see records below).

## A change in its Red List status

BirdLife International listed it as Critically Endangered in 2008 because of habitat loss ([BirdLife International, 2008 IUCN Red List status changes](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22708735/177949776)). Later research found that the loss of its forest habitat was not as severe as first feared, and in 2021 it was moved down to Least Concern ([IUCN Red List, *Turdus ludoviciae*](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22708735/177949776)). Local efforts to protect the forests appear to have helped ([Wikipedia, Somali thrush, backup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_thrush)).

## Records in Somali lands

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) holds 69 records of the Somali thrush from Somalia, dated from 1899 to 2025 ([GBIF occurrence search, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=5789051)). By type: 37 sightings by people, 32 museum specimens.

Records that name a region (37 of 69), by region: Sanaag 28, [Woqooyi Galbeed](/en/regions/woqooyi-galbeed/) 7, [Togdheer](/en/regions/togdheer/) 2 (same source).

The oldest dated record is a museum specimen from 1899, from a place recorded as "Wagga Mt.", held by the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard ([GBIF record 863570469](http://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/guid/MCZ:Orn:234939)).

The newest dated record is a sighting by a person from 2025, from Sanaag, held by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (eBird) ([GBIF record 6613937797](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6613937797)).

GBIF only holds what museums, scientists and observers have shared, so the counts show where the animal or plant has been recorded, not its full range.

## Red List status

The IUCN Red List category for the Somali thrush is **Least Concern** ([GBIF, IUCN Red List category](https://www.gbif.org/species/5789051); [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/5789051)).

## Classification

| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Passeriformes |
| Family | Turdidae |
| Genus | Turdus |
| Species | *Turdus ludoviciae* |

Scientific name with author: *Turdus ludoviciae* (Lort Phillips, 1895) ([GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/species/5789051)).

## Related pages

- [Sanaag](/en/regions/sanaag/)
- [Birds of Somalia](/en/nature/birds-of-somalia/)

## Sources

- [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/5789051)
- [GBIF occurrence records, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=5789051)
- [Wikipedia (backup)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_thrush)

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