Alternative name: White-cheeked Laughingthrush
- Pterorhinus sannio
Garrulax sannio
Identification
22 - 24cm. A rather small, dull brown laughingthrush.
- Drab vinous-brown plumage
- Whitish face divided by rich brown postocular line
- Darker maroon-brown crown
- Tail solid brown
Juvenile with more rufescent and lacking vague mantle streaks
Distribution
Found from northeast India over northern Burma and northern Indochina (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam) to much of south-central and south China.
Common to numerous especially in China.
Taxonomy
This species is sometimes placed in the genus Pterorhinus, Dryonastes or in Ianthocincla.
The alternative name White-cheeked Laughingthrush is usually used for Pterorhinus vassali.
Subspecies
Four subspecies recognized[1]:
- P. s. albosuperciliaris in northeast India (Assam, Nagaland and Manipur)
- P. s. comis in Burma, nortwest Thailand, north Laos, northwest Vietnam and south China (Yunnan)
- P. s. oblectans in southcentral China (Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei, Guizhou)
- P. s. sannio in northeast Vietnam and southeast China (Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Fujian)
Habitat
Scrub and grass, secondary growth, bamboo thickets, open hillsides, open grassland, cultivation borders. Generally from 600m to 1830m, locally lower or higher.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on small molluscs but takes also berries, seeds, rice, oats and other vegetable matter.
Forages in undergrowth and on ground in groups of 4 - 8 birds. Secretive but not so shy than other laughingthrushes.
Breeding
Breeding season from March to August. The nest is a compact cup, made of grass, ferns , roots, bamboo and other leaves. It's placed near the ground in a thick bush or in brambles.
Movements
Resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-browed Laughingthrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-browed_Laughingthrush
