From Opus

Alternative names: Red-headed Laughingthrush; Black-eared Laughingthrush (nigrimentum); Grey-eared Laughingthrush (chrysopterus group)

Garrulax erythrocephalus

Includes: Assam Laughingthrush; Silver-eared Laughingthruhs, Malayan Laughingthrush

Bird of the erythrocephalus group (subspecies nigrimentum)
Photo by Yeshey Dorji
Dodina, Thimphu, Western Bhutan September 2004

Bird of the chrysopterus group
Photo by James Eaton, Nagaland, N.E. India. April 2007.

Bird of the melanostigma group (subspecies schistaceus)
Photo by Auywat J, Doi Inthanon, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Bird of the peninsulae group (subspecies peninsulae)
Photo by Ingo, Fraser's Hill, Malaysia, August 2006 .

[edit] Identification

24 - 26cm. A medium-sized, very variable laughingthrush.

• Erythrocephalus group:
  • Brownish plumage
  • Brilliant green-gold panels on winges and sides of tail
  • Heavy black spots on upper mantle and scales on breast
  • Chestnut forehead and nape
  • Blackish lores and throat
  • Dark eye
  • Nigrimentum with slate-grey crown and grey cheek
• Chrysopterus group:
  • Tail and wing pattern like erythrocephalus
  • Greyish forehead
  • Brown ear-coverts
  • Dark chestnut throat
• Melanostigma group
  • Wing pattern like other groups but with black primary coverts
  • Plumage greyish-olive
  • Crown chestnut-orange
• Peninsulae group
  • Wing and tail pattern like melanostigma
  • Plumage chestnut-brown
  • Grey ear-coverts and nape
  • Rich chestnut crown

[edit] Distribution

Found from the Himalayas of northern India east over Nepal, Bhutan, northeast India to Burma and the mountains of Indochina (Laos, Thailand, Vietnam) and adjacent southern China to the peninsular Malaysia. Extinct in Pakistan.
Common in part of its range.

[edit] Taxonomy

There is a proposal for splitting this species into four which so far has been followed only by IOC and Birdlife International; Opus is waiting for more authorities to agree before following suit. The four groups are:

• Garrulax e. erythrocephalus (Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush)
  • Includes erythrocephalus, nigrimentum, imprudens, kali, and forresti (not all resources recognize imprudens and/or forresti)
• Garrulax e. chrysopterus (Assam Laughingthrush)
  • Includes chrysopterus, godwini, erythrolaemus, woodi, (and according to some sources ailaoshanensis)
• Garrulax e. melanostigma (Silver-eared Laughingthrush)
  • Includes melanostigma, ramsayi, schistaceus, connectens, subconnectens
• Garrulax e. peninsulae (Malayan Laughingthrush)
  • Includes only peninsulae

Also placed in the genus Trochalopteron.

[edit] Habitat

Understorey and bamboo in broadleaf evergreen forest. Also in mixed forest, secondary growth and rhododendron scrub. Found at 1000m to 3400m.

[edit] Behaviour

Feeds on inscects, berries, seeds and other vegetable matter.
Forages on or close to the ground in pairs or small groups, sometimes together with other laughingthrushes.
Breeding season differs throughout range. The nest is a deep cup made of dead leaves, dry grasses, moss and other dead vegetation. It's placed in a small tree, bush, sapling or hanging lianas. Lays 1 - 4 eggs.
Resident species with some altitudinal movement in the Himalayas.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Avibase#Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
3. Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672

• List of references

[edit] External Links