The Grey-backed Thrush is a common winter visitor in Hong Kong, occurring in forests, wooded areas, and urban parks. Males show grey and orange, while females are brown and spotted.
Adult males have medium-grey head, upperparts, throat, and chest, orange along the flanks, and a white belly. Females are brown above, with brown spots on the off-white throat and chest. The male’s bill is mostly yellowish. First-winter males have brown mixed into the grey above and dark spots on the chest and upper belly.
In Hong Kong it is a common winter visitor and an uncommon passage migrant. It occurs in varied wooded habitats, including gardens and urban parks, with closed-canopy secondary forest appearing to be preferred. The main wintering period is from late November to late February, and it may gather in parties of up to about 20 birds. It visits fruiting trees and shrubs and searches leaf litter for invertebrates.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.