The alpine thrush was formerly known as the plain-backed thrush until split into the Sichuan thrush and the newly discovered Himalayan thrush.It is found from the north-western Himalayas to southern China. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.  This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern. In Pakistan, Alpine Thrush is a rare high altitude resident, mostly confined to moist alpine slopes, 3600-4250m, from Hazara District to easst to Azad Kashmir. Plain Backed Thrush is known for limited altitudinal movement to forested areas in Winters.