From Opus

nominate subspecies
Photo by Dr Manjeet Singh
Frasers Hill, Malaysia

Garrulax lugubris

[edit] 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

Sexes similar. Juveniles are browner and duller.

[edit] Distribution

Found in extreme south Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.
Restricted-range species, uncommon in parts of its range, common in others.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
It was formerly considered conspecific with Bare-headed Laughingthrush.
Some authorites place this species in the genus Melanocichla.

[edit] Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest, forest edge and secondary growth. Found above 800m in Malaysia and at 500 - 1600m in Sumatra.

[edit] 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.

[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.
2. 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

• List of references

[edit] External Links