About Allenia fusca (Statius Muller, 1776)
The scaly-breasted thrasher, scientific name Allenia fusca (Statius Muller, 1776), is approximately 23 cm (9.1 in) long and weighs 53 to 98 g (1.9 to 3.5 oz), with an average weight of 67 g (2.4 oz). It has a rather short and slightly decurved bill, and this thrasher resembles a thrush. Adults of the nominate subspecies have dark gray-brown heads and upperparts, with a reddish tinge on the rump. Their tail is darker brownish black, and its outer feathers have white tips. The folded wing shows a single white bar. Their chin and throat are whitish with brown streaks. Their underparts are whitish, and the chest and flanks have bold gray-brown markings that give the eponymous scaly appearance. Other subspecies differ mostly in size and the intensity of their upperparts' color. A. f. hypenema is the largest and is paler than the nominate. A. f. schwartzi is mid-sized and has more white on its tail. A. f. vincenti is the smallest and is darker overall than the nominate. Compared to the nominate, A. f. atlantica is more reddish brown above and has less white in the tail. The subspecies of the scaly-breasted thrasher are distributed as follows: A. f. hypenema ranges across the northern Lesser Antilles from Saint Martin south through Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Antigua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Montserrat to Guadeloupe; it is possibly extinct on Sint Eustatius and Barbuda. A. f. vincenti is found on Saint Vincent, and is vagrant to the Grenadines. A. f. atlantica occurs on Barbados, but is probably extinct. A. f. schwartzi lives on Saint Lucia. A. f. fusca, the nominate subspecies, is found on Dominica, Grenada, and Martinique. The scaly-breasted thrasher primarily inhabits forest and semi-open woodland, and is also found around human settlements.
