The island thrush (Turdus poliocephalus) is a common forest bird in the thrush family. Almost 50 subspecies have been described, ranging from South East Asia and Melanesia, to Samoa, exhibiting great differences in plumage. Several subspecies are threatened and three have already become extinct. Taxonomy The island thrush is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Turdus (Linnaeus, 1758), one of the most widely distributed bird genera in the world. The taxonomy of the island thrush is complex, and has defied attempts to split the group based on the four suspected morphological types. There are also thought to be at least two further subspecies not yet scientifically described, both of them from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. List of subspecies The list below is sorted alphabetically. T. p. albifrons (E. P. Ramsay, 1879). Erromango, Vanuatu. T. p. becki Mayr, 1941. Paama, Lopevi, Epi and Emae, in Vanuatu. T. p. beehleri Ripley, 1977. New Ireland. T. p. bougainvillei Mayr, 1941. Bougainville Island. T. p. canescens (De Vis, 1894). Goodenough Island. T. p. carbonarius Mayr & Gilliard, 1951. Mountains of east-central New Guinea. T. p. celebensis (Büttikofer, 1893). Southwestern Sulawesi. T. p. deningeri Stresemann, 1912. Seram. T. p. efatensis Mayr, 1941. Efate and Nguna, in Vanuatu. T. p. erythropleurus Sharpe, 1887, Christmas thrush. Christmas Island. T. p. fumidus Statius Muller, 1844. Mountains of western Java. T. p. hades Mayr, 1941. Gau Island, Fiji. T. p. heinrothi Rothschild & Hartert, 1924. St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea. T. p. hygroscopus Stresemann, 1931. Southern Sulawesi. T. p. indrapurae Robinson & Kloss, 1916. South-central Sumatra. T. p. javanicus Horsfield, 1821. Mountains of central Java. T. p. katanglad Salomonsen, 1953. Central Mindanao, Philippines. T. p. kelleri (Mearns, 1905). Mount Apo, Philippines. T. p. keysseri Mayr, 1931. Mountains of the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea. T. p. kulambangrae Mayr, 1941. Kolombangara, Solomon Islands. T. p. layardi (Seebohm, 1891). Viti Levu, Ovalau, Yasawa and Koro Islands, Fiji. T. p. loeseri Meyer de Schauensee, 1939. Northern Sumatra. T. p. malekulae Mayr, 1941. Pentecost, Malekula and Ambrym Islands, Vanuatu. T. p. malindangensis (Mearns, 1907). Mount Malindang, Philippines. †T. p. mareensis E. L. Layard & Tristram, 1879. Maré Island, in the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. Extinct. T. p. mayonensis (Mearns, 1907). Southern Luzon, Philippines. T. p. mindorensis Ogilvie-Grant, 1896. Mindoro, Philippines. T. p. nigrorum Ogilvie-Grant, 1896. Negros, Philippines. T. p. papuensis (De Vis, 1890). Mountains of southeastern New Guinea. T. p. placens Mayr,