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English: The Blue Whistling Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus) is a striking bird found in the mountainous regions of Central Asia, South Asia, China, and Southeast Asia. Renowned for its loud, human-like whistling song at dawn and dusk, this species exhibits variations in size and plumage across its wide distribution, leading to the identification of several subspecies.

The Blue Whistling Thrush is a dark violet-blue bird with shiny spangling on the tips of its body feathers, except on the lores, abdomen, and under the tail. Its wing coverts are a slightly different shade of blue, with the median coverts featuring white spots at their tips. The bill is a contrasting yellow, and the inner webs of the flight and tail feathers are black. Both sexes have similar plumage.

This large bird is typically found along streams in forested hills and mountains. It is dark purple with tiny silvery spots on its head, back, and wings. The bill color varies with the range: dark in central and eastern China and parts of mainland Southeast Asia, and bright yellow in other populations. The Blue Whistling Thrush often fans its tail while perched on exposed locations such as waterside rocks or overhanging branches. True to its name, it produces a long, piercing whistle that carries well over the sound of rushing water.

Feeding mainly on the ground, it forages along streams and damp areas, searching for snails, crabs, fruits, and insects.

This bird was photographed at Latpanchar, West Bengal, India