- Trochalopteron elliotii
Identification
23 - 25.5cm. A medium-sized, long-tailed laughingthrush.
- Uniform brownish-grey plumage with paler forehead
- Whitish-yellow eye on dark face
- Chestnut lower belly and vent
- Golden-olive fringes on secondaries and outertail
- Variable faint whitish and dark speckling on mantle
Distribution
Endemic to central China (Qinghai, Gansu, Nei Monggol, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Hubei, Sichuan). One sight record in northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh).
Common in parts of its range.
Taxonomy
Has been treated as conspecific with Brown-cheeked Laughingthrush.
Also placed in the genus Garrulax.
Subspecies
Clements[1] lists two subspecies:
- T. e. przewalskii:
- Montane forests of south-central China (Gansu and eastern Qinghai)
- T. e. elliotii:
- Mountains of southern China (southern Shaanxi, western Hubei, Sichuan and north-western Yunnan)
However, other authorities[2] treat this species as monotypic and regard all proposed races (przewalskii and bonvaloti) as indistinguishable from the nominate.
Habitat
Thickets, bamboo and undergrowth at or above the timber-line, open broadleaf forest, mixed broadleaf-pine forest and juniper forest. Sometimes close to human habitation and in gardens. Found from 1000m to 4200m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds probably on invertebrates and some vegetable matter.
Forages close to the ground in pairs or small groups. Behaviour very similar to Brown-cheeked Laughingthrush.
Breeding
Breeding season from June to September. The nest is a crude cup made of moss stalks, leaves and other dead vegetation. It's placed in a small tree or a bush. Lays 2 - 3 eggs.
Resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Elliot's Laughingthrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Elliot%27s_Laughingthrush
