This species was named after Samuel Bligh, a Ceylon coffee planter, who was the first to observe and collect a specimen of this thrush. It was described by his friend, E.W.H. Holdsworth in his Catalogue of Ceylon Birds, published by the Zoological Society in 1872.
The thrush inhabited the hill country in Ceylon at altitudes from 4,000 to 6,000 feet, and could be seen near waterfalls and mountain streams. Sometimes it alighted on a rock in mid-stream, dipped its body and slightly raised its tail. When disturbed it uttered a loud, long-drawn, plaintive whistle, but at other times made a beautiful soft whistling note which could sound deceptively human.
In Hart's watercolour faint pencil marks, perhaps by Gould, suggest that the tail of the upper bird should be raised, the background grasses should continue upwards, and the upper bird reversed. The finished plate depicts both birds facing left, the tail of the upper bird raised, and alterations in the grasses.
The illustration was made from the type specimens borrowed from Holdsworth, and depicts the birds lifesize.
E.W.H. Holdsworth, Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1872, p.444, pl.XIX
DISTRIBUTION: Sri Lanka