Karoo thrush
Turdus smithi Bonaparte, 1850
The karoo thrush (Turdus smithi) is a species in the family Turdidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 65.5 g to 77.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the karoo thrush
- Weight
- 65.5 g – 77.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 2.4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the karoo thrush live?
Not recorded
What is the karoo thrush?
The Karoo thrush (Turdus smithi), also known as Smith's thrush, is a member of the thrush family in Africa. It has traditionally been considered a subspecies of the olive thrush (with which it is known to hybridize), but is increasingly treated as a separate species. The specific name honours the Scottish military surgeon and zoologist Sir Andrew Smith.
From the Wikipedia article “Karoo thrush” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karoo_thrush&oldid=1360644638), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the karoo thrush endangered?
The karoo thrush is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the karoo thrush classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyTurdidae
- genusTurdus
- SpeciesTurdus smithi Bonaparte, 1850
Synonyms Merula obscura, Turdus cabanisi, Turdus obscurus, Turdus olivaceus cabanisi, Turdus olivaceus smithi
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- KATHEnglish
- GeelbeklysterAfrikaans
- Karoolyster (Geelbeklyster)Afrikaans
- KaroodrosselGerman
- Karoo-DrosselGerman
- karua turdoEsperanto
- Zorzal del KarooSpanish
- Karoo rästasEstonian
- karoorastasFinnish
- Merle de SmithFrench
- Merle du KarooFrench
- maslinastotrbi kosCroatian
- Merlo di KarooItalian
- Merlo di SmithItalian
- Tordo di KarooItalian
- Tordo di SmithItalian
- カルーオリーブツグミJapanese
- KaroolijsterDutch
- karootrostNorwegian
- drozd przylądkowyPolish
- tordo-do-carruPortuguese
- tordo-do-karooPortuguese
- Дрозд КаруRussian
- Дрозд СмитаRussian
- Каруйский дроздRussian
- drozd búrskySlovak
- Drozd iz KaruaSerbian
- karrootrastSwedish
- Karu ArdıcıTurkish
- дрізд бурськийUkrainian
- 南非鸫Chinese
- 卡羅橄綠鶇Chinese
Relatives of the karoo thrush
Other species in the same genus Turdus.
Common blackbird
Turdus merula
Song thrush
Turdus philomelos
Fieldfare
Turdus pilaris
Mistle thrush
Turdus viscivorus
Ring ouzel
Turdus torquatus
Redwing
Turdus iliacus
CompareKaroo thrush vs Common blackbirdKaroo thrush vs Song thrushKaroo thrush vs FieldfareKaroo thrush vs Mistle thrush
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the karoo thrush?
An adult karoo thrush weighs 65.5 g – 77.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the karoo thrush endangered?
The karoo thrush is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the karoo thrush?
The karoo thrush (Turdus smithi) belongs to the family Turdidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Karoo thrush (Turdus smithi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/karoo-thrush
“Karoo thrush (Turdus smithi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/karoo-thrush.
@misc{karoo_thrush_2026,
title = {Karoo thrush (Turdus smithi)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/karoo-thrush},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}