Identification
A typical thrush with olive-brown upperparts and rufous underparts. Its taxonomic status remains under review, and it is most easily identified by range. In the north it is primarily a species of montane forest and forest edge, but farther south it occurs in gardens, woodland, plantations, and heath. It has a varied song, and often reveals its presence with typical thrush “chk-chk” or thin “tseeep” calls. An understory specialist that sometimes skulks, but at other times can be quite bold. Most similar thrushes do not overlap geographically. One that does is the Karoo Thrush, which differs from Olive Thrush in its gray (not rufous) flanks; its yellow-orange (not brown) eye-ring; its yellow (not dark brown) base to the upper mandible of the bill; and its less streaky throat.