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LAUGHINGTHRUSH and Allies

Order Passeriformes    Family Leiothrichidae

The laughingthrushes are a family of mostly Old World passerine birds. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The entire family was previously included in the Timaliidae, the Old World babblers. Some birds in Leiothrichidaeare are called babbler's.

They are small to medium sized birds. They have strong legs, and many are quite terrestrial. They typically have generalised bills, similar to those of a thrush. Most have predominantly brown plumage, with minimal difference between the sexes, but many more brightly coloured species also exist. They are vocally noisy birds.

The Leiothrichidae are divided in this presention as follows
Babbler: babax, babbler, chatterer
Fulvetta : cutia, fulvetta
Laughingthrush: babax, hwamei, laughingthrush
Other : barwing, leiothrix, liocichla, mesia, minia, sibia


The LAUGHINGTHRUSH

This web page contains the following genus: Garrulax, Ianthocincla, Trochalopteron. At one time they were all combined into a larger Garrulax. Almost all of the species have Laughingthrush in their name.

Genus Babax
Also placed in genus Garrulax or Ianthocincla

Babax,_Chinese  Babax lanceolatus also Ianthocincla lanceolata  Found: China, Hong Kong, India, Myanmar
Image by: 1) LonelyShrimp  Josephe Huet  2) Dave_Curtis 3) Brendan_Ryan


Babax, Giant   Babax waddelli  also Ianthocincla waddelli Found: India, Tibet
Image by: 1) Johan Bosch  2) Frode Falkenberg


Babax, Tibetan   Babax koslowi also Ianthocincla koslowi  Found: China
Image by: 1) Tang Jun



Genus Garrulax
These laughingthrush usually appear in gourps of about a half dozen.

Hwamei,_Chinese also Melodious Laughingthrush  Garrulax canorus  Found: eastern Asia
The Chinese Hwamei has mainly reddish-brown plumage; dark streaks on crown, back, throat; whitish eye-ring with white line extending to rear of head.
Image by: 1. 2) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo  3) Charles Lam  4) Hiyashi_Haka


Hwamei,_Taiwan  Garrulax taewanum   Found: Taiwan
The Taiwan Hwamei has mainly gray-brown plumage; heavy streaks on crown, nape, back; fine streaks on much of underparts;
Image by: 1, 2) Lin_Sun_Fong - Taiwan  3)  Hiyashi Haka


Laughingthursh,_Ashy-headed  Garrulax cinereifrons  Found: Sri Lanka
The Ashy-headed Laughingthrush has rufous-brown upperparts; deep buff underparts; gray head; white throat. They are noisy birds with charactericstic laughing calls.
Image by: 1) Steve Garvie - Sri Lanka  2) Danushka Senadheera  3) p_khoo


Laughingthursh, Bare-headed  Garrulax calvus  Found: Borneo
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) James Eaton
1) Adult - foreground; juvenile - rear


Laughingthursh, Black  Garrulax lugubris  Found: Indonesia
The Black Laughingthrush has all black plumage; orange bill.
Image by: 1) Oleg Chernyshov


Laughingthursh, Black-hooded  Garrulax milleti  Found: Laos, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Henrik Gronvold


Laughingthursh, Cambodian  Garrulax ferrarius  Found: southwestern Cambodia
Image by: 1) James Eaton


Laughingthursh, Gray  Garrulax maesi  Found: China, Laos, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Manfred Braun


Laughingthrush,_Lesser_Necklaced  Garrulax monileger  Found: Asia
Image by: 1) JJ Harrison - Thailand   2) Dibyendu_Ash - India  3) Vijay_Ismavel - India  4) Hiyashi_Haka


Laughingthrush,_Masked  Garrulax perspicillatus  Found: China, Vietnam
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Charles Lam


Laughingthursh, Orange-breasted  Garrulax annamensis  Found: Vietnam
The Orange-breasted Laughingthrush has brown upperparts; orange breast with black streaks; black throat.
Similar to: Spot-breasted Laughtingthrush. Spot-breasted Laughtingthrush has brown breast with black streaks; Orange-breasted Laughingthrush has orange breast with black streaks; black throat.
Image by: 1) James Eaton - Vietnam


Laughingthursh,_Rufous-cheeked  Garrulax castanotis  Found: China, Laos, Vietnam
The Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush was formerly considered a subspecies of the Gray Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1) Brian_Ivon_Jones - China


Laughingthursh, Rufous-fronted  Garrulax rufifrons  Found: mountains regions of Java
The Rufous-fronted Laughingthrust has mainly gray plumage; rufous forehead;  yellow eyes.
Image by: 1) Marhi_226  2) Writhed Hornbil - Prague Zoo


Laughingthursh,_Spot-breasted  Garrulax merulinus  Found: southeast Asia
The Sopt-breasted Laughingthrush has brown upperparts; brown breast with black streaks.
Similar to: Orange-breasted Laughtingthrush. Spot-breasted Laughtingthrush has brown breast with black streaks; Orange-breasted Laughingthrush has orange breast with black streaks; black throat.
Image by: 1, 2) Jason Thompson - Thailand 3) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand


Laughingthrush,_Sumatran  also  Black-and-white Laughingthrush  Garrulax bicolor  Found: Indonesian island of Sumatra
Image by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels - Miami Zoo  3) cuatrok77


Laughingthursh, Sunda  Garrulax palliatus  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia
Image by: 1) Dave Irving


Laughingthrush,_White-crested  Garrulax leucolophus  Found: Asia
Image by: 1, 2, 4) Dick Daniels  - National Aviary 3) Dick - Miami Zoo  5) Sandy Cole



Laughingthursh, White-necked  Garrulax strepitans  Found: China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
Image by: 1) JJ Harrison - Thailand



Genus Grammatoptila - 1 species

Laughingthrush,_Striated  Grammatoptila striata  Found: Indian subcontinent
Image: 1) Dibyendu Ash  2) Soumendu_Das  3) vbecker - India



Genus Ianthocincla also Garrulax

Laughingthrush,_Barred  Ianthocincla lunulata Found: China
Image by: 1) Matej Batha  2) Brendan_Ryan - Sichuan


Laughingthrush,_Biet's  also  White-speckled Laughingthrush   Ianthocincla bieti Found: China
Image by: 1) character


Laughingthrush,_Black-throated Ianthocincla chinensis also Garrulax c.  Found: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels- Miami Zoo  2) Charles Lam  3) Darren Bellerby - Hong Kong Park, Hong Kong  4) Dick - Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle


Laughingthrush,_Blue-crowned Ianthocincla courtoisi also Garrulax courtoisiFound: Jiangxi, China.
The Blue-crowned Laughingthrush was previously a subspecies of the Yellow-throated Laughingthrush,_but that species has a pale grey (not bluish) crown.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Dick DanielsNational Aviary  4) Sandy ColeNational Aviary  5) Trisha Shears - the Cincinnati Zoo



Laughingthrush,_Buffy  Ianthocincla berthemyi also Garrulax berthemyi  Found: China
Similar to: Ruaty Laughingthrush. Buffy Laughingthrush has paler gray underparts than Rusty Laughingthrush and more contrasting rufous wings.
Image by: 1) Dougii  2) Kimoji


Laughingthrush,_Chestnut-backed  Ianthocincla nuchalis also Garrulax nuchalis Found: India, Myanmar
Image by: 1) Raj Phukan  2) Firoz_Hussain


Laughingthrush,_Chestnut-capped  Ianthocincla mitratus also Garrulax mitratus  Found: Indonesia, Malaysia
Image by: 1) David_Cook  2) Jason Thompson  3) Swee_Oon  4) Hiyashi_Haka


Laughingthrush,_Chestnut-eared Ianthocincla konkakinhensis also Garrulax konkakinhensis Found: Vietnam, Laos
The Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush has irregularly barred black-and-white upperparts; black-streaked gray forehead; chestnut ear-coverts.
Image by: 1) Tony Sawbridge


Laughingthrush,_Chestnut-hooded  Ianthocincla treacheri also Garrulax treacheri  Found: Borneo
Image by: 1) Sabine's Sunbird  2) Lip Kee


Laughingthrush,_Giant  Ianthocincla maxima Found: China, India
Image by: 1)  Henry_Koh - Tibet  2) Nick_Athanas


Laughingthrush,_Gray-sided  Ianthocincla caerulata also Garrulax caerulatus  Found: southeast Asia, Hawaii (introduced)
Similar to: Rusty Laughingthrush. Rusty Laughingthrush has larger black patch on lores than Gray-sided Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1) Umeshsrinivasan  2, 3) Hiyashi Haka


Laughingthrush,_Greater Necklaced Ianthocincla pectoralis Found: Asia
Image by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo  3) Sandy Cole - San Diego Zoo  4) Vijay_Ismavel


Laughingthrush,_Moustached Ianthocincla cineraceaFound: China, India, Myanmar
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) esbelme


Laughingthrush,_Plain  also Pere David's Laughingthrush  Garrulax davidi also Ianthocincla davidi  Found: China
Image by: 1) LonelyShrimp  2) Brendan_Ryan  3) Dave_Curtis


Laughingthrush,_Rufous-chinned  Ianthocincla rufogularis Found: southeast Asia
The Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush has scale-like upperparts; grayish underparts; black cap; brown tail.
Image by: 1) Rakeshkdogra  2) soumyajit_nandy  3) Soumendu_Das  4) Koshy_Koshy


Laughingthrush,_Rufous-crowned  Ianthocincla ruficeps Found: Taiwan
The Rufous-crowned Laughtingthrush was previously considered conspecific with the White-throated Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1) Nick_Athanas - Taiwan   2) Chun-Chieh_Liao


Laughingthrush,_Rufous-necked  Ianthocincla ruficollis also Garrulax ruficollis  Found: south Asia
Image by: 1) Ron Knight  2) Vijay_Ismavel - India  3) Dibyendu_Ash - West Bengal, India


Laughingthrush,_Rufous-vented  Ianthocincla gularis also Garrulax gularis  Found: southeast Asia
Image by: 1) John Gould  2) Paul


Laughingthrush,_Rusty  Ianthocincla poecilorhynchus also Garrulax poecilorhynchus  Found: Taiwan
Similar to: Gray-sided Laughingthrush. Rusty Laughingthrush has larger black patch on lores than Gray-sided Laughingthrush.
Similar to: Buffy Laughingthrush. Buffy Laughingthrush has paler gray underparts than Rusty Laughingthrush and more contrasting rufous wings.
Image by:  1) Ray Cui  2) Hank  3) Ross_Tsai


Laughingthrush,_Spotted  Ianthocincla ocellata  Found: Asia
Image by: 1) Charlie Westerinen - San Diego Zoo  2, 4) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo   3) Sandy Cole - San Diego Zoo


Laughingthrush,_Sukatschev's  also Snowy-cheeked Laughingthursh  Ianthocincla sukatschewi Found: China
Image by: 1) Gustav Mutzel  2) Tang Jan


Laughingthrush,_White-browed  Ianthocincla sannio also Garrulax sannio  Found: southeast Asia
The White-browed Laughingthrush has mainly gray plumage; lighter underparts; black crown; white supercilium, face.
Image by: 1) Ron Knight - Chengdu, China  2) Jason Thompson - Thailand  3) Jerry_Oldenettel - Thailand


Laughingthrush,_White-cheeked  Ianthocincla vassali also Garrulax vassali Found: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Johnson - Singapore


Laughingthrush,_White-throated  Ianthocincla albogularis Found: Asia
The Rufous-crowned Laughtingthrush was previously considered conspecific with the White-throated Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1) Hectonichus  2) Lip_Kee  3, 4) Hiyashi_Haka


Laughingthrush,_Wynaad  Ianthocincla delesserti  also Garrulax delessertiFound: Western Ghats south of Goa in India
The Wynaad Laughingthrush has brownish-gray upperparts; dark head with black mask; white throat; pale gray breast; rufous belly.
Image by: 1) Prasanna Parab


Laughingthrush,_Yellow-throated  Ianthocincla galbanus  Found: Asia
The Blue-crowned Laughingthrush was previously a subspecies of the Yellow-throated Laughingthrush,_but that species has a pale grey (not bluish) crown.
Image by: 1) John Gould in Birds of Asia  2, 3) Kerry Lannert



Genus Trochalopteron also Garrulax
These laughingthrush are found in Asia. Most are quite colorful.

Laughingthrush,_Assam Trochalopteron chrysopterum  Found: China, India, Myanmar
The Assam Laughingthrush was formerly considered a subspecies of the Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1) LonelyShrimp    2) Dibyendu_Ash - India


Laughingthrush,_Bhutan Trochalopteron imbricatum  Found: Bhutan and adjacent India
The Bhutan Laughingthrush was formerly considered a subspecies of the Streaked Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1, 2) Ron Knight  3) Dibyendu_Ash - Bhutan


Laughingthrush,_Black-faced Trochalopteron affine  Found: south Asia
Image by: 1) David Cook 2) Dibyendu Ash  3) Allen Drewitt  4) Francesco_Veronesi - India


Laughingthrush,_Blue-winged Trochalopteron squamatum  Found: southern China, eastern Himalaya, Myanmar, Laos
Image by: 1) Dibyendu_Ash - India 


Laughingthrush,_Brown-capped Trochalopteron austeni  Found: India, Myanmar
Image by: 1, 2) lonelyshrimp


Laughingthrush,_Brown-cheeked  also Prince Henry's Laugingthrush Trochalopteron henrici  Found: China, India
Image by: 1, 2) Ross Tsai


Laughingthrush,_Chestnut-crowned Trochalopteron erythrocephalum  Found: Bhutan, China, India, Nepal
The Assam Laughingthrush was formerly considered a subspecies of the Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1) Rushen  2) Sivaramakrishnan  3) Prateik_Kulkarni  4) Koshy_Koshy - India


Laughingthrush,_Collared Trochalopteron yersini  Found: Vietnam
Image by: 1) P_Khoo  2) Luyen Nguyen 


Laughingthrush,_Elliot's Trochalopteron elliotii  Found: Chian, India
Image by: 1) John Gould  2) Ron Knight 


Laughingthrush,_Golden-winged Trochalopteron ngoclinhense  Found: Vietnam
Image by: 1) TUANTHUDUC


Laughingthrush,_Kerala also Grey-breasted Laughingthrush  Trochalopteron fairbanki  Found: Asia
The Kerala Laughingthrush has olive-brown upperparts; gray-brown crown; white supercilium; gray throat; gray upper-breast with faint brown streaks; rusty-brown lower-breast, belly.
Image by: 1) Shrikant_Rao - India  2) gopalarathnam   3) Chandru0072 - India  4) NA_Nazeer


Laughingthrush,_Malayan Trochalopteron peninsulae  Found: Thailand, Malaysia
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Malaysia  2) Mark_Louis_Benedict


Laughingthrush,_Red-tailed  Trochalopteron milnei  Found: Asia
The Red-tailed Laughingtrush has dull ochrous-gray underparts, mantle; rufous-chestnut crown, nape; crimson wings, tail; white ear-coverts.
Image by: 1) Ray_Cui   2) Tom_Friedel (BirdPhotos.com)  3) Hiyashi_Haka  4) Sandy Cole - San Diego Zoo 


Laughingthrush,_Red-winged  Trochalopteron formosum  Found: southwest China, Vietnam
The Red-winged Laughingtrush has mainly brown plumage; lare areas of red on wings, tail; gray crown with dark streaks.
Image by: 1) Josephe Huet  2) Jason L. Buberel  3) Smatric


Laughingthrush,_Rufous-breasted  also  Black-chinned Laughingthrush  Trochalopteron cachinnans  Found:  Asia
The Rufous-breasted Laughingthrush has dark olive-gray upperparts; slaty-brown crown;  broad white supercilium boarded with black; black lores, throat; olive-brown tail.reddish brown eyes; rufous underparts; sblack bill. A subspecies has gray breast and rufous belly. Also known as Nilgiri Laughingthrush (Montecincla cachinnans)
Image by: 1, 2) D. Momaya  3) Antony_Grossy  4) P_Jeganathan


Laughingthrush,_Scaly Trochalopteron subunicolor  Found: southern Asia
Image by: 1) Umeshsrinivasan  2) Dibyendu Ash  3) Hiyashi_Haka  4) Ron_Knight


Laughingthrush,_Silver-eared Trochalopteron melanostigma  Found: China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Jason Thompson  2) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand  3) JJ_Harrison - Thailand


Laughingthrush,_Streaked  Trochalopteron lineatum  Found: Asia
The Bhutan Laughingthrush was formerly considered a subspecies of the Streaked Laughingthrush.
Image by: 1) Yogendra Joshi - India  2) Koshy_Koshy - India  3) J M Garg - India   3) Shrikant_Rao - India  4) Shrikant_Rao - India


Laughingthrush,_Striped Trochalopteron virgatum  Found: northeast India, Myanmar
Image by:   1) Dibyendu_Ash   2) Raju Kasambe - India


Laughingthrush,_Variegated Trochalopteron variegatum  Found: northern regions of Indian subcontinent
Image by: 1) Mike_Prince  2) Dibyendu_Ash - India


Laughingthrush,_White-whiskered  Trochalopteron morrisonianus  Found: Asia Trochalopteron morrisonianum
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Hiyashi Haka  4) Charles_Lam






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