- Melanocichla calva
Garrulax calvus
Identification
25.5 - 27cm. A medium-sized laughingthrush:
- Glossy blackish to blackish-grey plumage
- Bluish-slate to violet orbital skin
- Bluish-white postocular skin
- Orange-red bill
- Brownish to yellowish bare head and red bill
Sexes similar. Juveniles are browner and duller.
Distribution
Highlands of northeastern Borneo
Restricted-range species, uncommon in parts of its range, common in others.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
It was formerly considered conspecific with Black Laughingthrush.
Some authorites place this species in the genus Melanocichla.
Habitat
Broadleaf evergreen forest, forest edge and secondary growth. Found at 800 - 1800m.
Behaviour
Feeds on insects, spiders and sometimes seeds.
Moves around in small noisy groups. Keeps mostly to thick cover, does not engage in long laborious flight, preferring to glide from place to place.
Breeding season October to April. The nest is a bulky cup made of vegetable fibres and leaves. It's placed about 2.5m above the ground in a tree fork. Lays 2 eggs.
Resident species.
References
- 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.
- 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
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Bare-headed Laughingthrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bare-headed_Laughingthrush
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
