From Opus

Photo by Yeshey Dorji
Tharpaling Goenpa, Bumthang, Central Bhutan, December 2007

Garrulax affinis

[edit] Identification

24 - 25cm. Fairly large, dark brownish laughingthrush.

• Dark brown plumage
• Bold white moustache and neck-patches on blackish head
• Pale greyish mottling above and scaling below
• Greenish-golden wings and tail

Juveniles with less distinct head markings and uniform chestnut-brown on body

[edit] Similar species

Variegated Laughingthrush has a similar malar patch but no neck-patch and a black tail.

[edit] Distribution

Found in the Himalayas from western Nepal east over Bhutan to northeast India and onward to northern Burma and south China (Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu). Also in extreme northwest Vietnam.
Locally common in parts of its range.

[edit] Taxonomy

Six subspecies recognized:

• G. a. affinis in Nepal and adjacent Tibet
• G. a. bethelae from eastern Nepal to Bhutan, northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh) and adjacent Tibet
• G. a. oustaleti in northern Burma and southern China (northwest Yunnan and adjacent Tibet)
• G. a. muliensis from southwest Sichuan to northwest Yunnan (China)
• G. a. blythii from south Gansu to southwest Sichuan (China)
• G. a. saturatus in Yunnan (China) and northwest Tonkin (Vietnam).

Has been considered conspecific with White-whiskered Laughingthrush from Taiwan.
Also placed in the genus Trochalopteron.

[edit] Habitat

Bushy undergrowth in broadleaf evergreen forest, coniferous and mixed forest, scrub oak and bamboo in birch, fir or rhododendron forest, also shrubbery above timber-line. Found at 2300m to 4600m.

[edit] Behaviour

Feeds on insects, berries and fruit.
Forages near or on the ground, sometimes also in crowns of small trees. Usually seen in pairs or in small groups. Often in bird-waves with other species like White-browed Fulvetta.
Breeding seasonf from April to August. The nest is a large cup made of moss and fine twigs. It's placed some 1 - 2.5 m above the ground in a bush. Lays 2 - 3 eggs.
Resident species with some altitudinal movements.

[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