[2][3] The New Caledonian island thrush was first described in 1894 as Turdus xanthopus by German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster.

[5] The New Caledonian island thrush is a medium-sized bird with very little sexual dimorphism, with females weighing slightly more than males.

[1] The New Caledonian island thrush is known to forage both on the ground and in trees, with its diet being mainly composed of invertebrates and fruit.

[1] Invertebrates are found through discarding leaf litter on the ground using its bill, while fruit are usually plucked from trees and swallowed whole.

[1] The last confirmed sighting of the bird on Grande Terre was in 1928 and it was considered extinct until being rediscovered on the islands of Yandé and Néba in 1978.