From Opus

Photo by linesiam
Petchburi, Thailand, October 2009

Alternative names: Necklaced Laughingthrush; Black-necklaced Laughingthrush

Garrulax monileger

[edit] Identification

With 24 - 31.5cm smaller than the similar Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush^{1, 3}:

• Narrow blackish necklace from ear-coverts across breast
• Crown and upperparts brown (differs in tone in subspecies)
• Tail brown, outher tail feathers black with white tips
• White supercilium
• Unstreaked blackish ear-coverts with whitish central spot
• Dark line through lores
• Whitish belly with rufous to brown flanks

[edit] Similar Species

Generally smaller and slimmer than Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush.

[edit] Distribution

Patchily distributed from the Himalayas (C Nepal) east over Bhutan, NE India and the hills of Bangladesh to Myanmar and east to S China. Also south to Thailand and Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam).¹
Common in parts of its range and not globally threatened.¹

[edit] Taxonomy

10 subspecies are usually recognized^{1, 2}:

• G. m. monileger from Nepal to Bhutan and NE India (except Arunachal Pradesh)
• G. m. badius in NE India (Arunachal Pradesh) and extreme N Myanmar
• G. m. stuarti in SE Myanmar and NW Thailand
• G. m. fuscatus in S Myanmar and W Thailand
• G. m. schauenseei in E Myanmar, N Thailand, N Laos and S China
• G. m. tonkinensis in N Vietnam and SE China
• G. m. melli in SE China
• G. m. schmackeri on Hainan (China)
• G. m. mouhoti in SE Thailand, Cambodia, S Laos and parts of Vietnam
• G. m. pasquieri in C and S Laos and parts of Vietnam

After the proposed reorganisation of the Laughingthrushes this species would remain in the genus Garrulax.¹

[edit] Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest, deciduous forest, also secondary forest, scrub or hedgerows in open land. Up to 1700m, rarely higher.¹

[edit] Behaviour

Feeds on insects and larvae. Also takes snails, small lizards, berries, small fruits and seeds. Like White-crested Laughingthrush higly gregarious and often in groups of up to 5 birds during breeding season and up to 20 or more outside. Forages also on ground, hacking earth and putting aside leaves. Often in mixed groups (bird-waves) with White-crested Laughingthrush, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Black-throated Laughingthrush and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo.^{1, 3}
Breeding season from March to August. The nest is placed about 1 to 4.5 m above ground in bamboo or in a low tree. It's a broad cup (similar to Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush) made of dry bamboo, leaves, twigs and roots. Lays 3 - 5 eggs. Brood parasitism recorded by Chestnut-winged Cuckoo and Jacobin Cuckoo.¹
Resident species.¹

[edit] References

1. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Christie, D.A. eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-96553-42-6
2. Clements James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
3. Rasmussen, P.C. and Anderton, J.C. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Washington D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Editions. ISBN 84-87334-67-9

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages