PAKHI DEKHOON PAKHI CHINOON #629... OBSERVE THE BIRD AND RECOGNIZE...KERALA LAUGHINGTHRUSH... WATERCOLOUR...A4.. 2016...[From the photograph of MR. Pranjal J. Saikia] ... The Kerala laughingthrush (Trochalopteron fairbanki) is a species of laughingthrush endemic to the hills of the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap in Southern India. Found in the high montane forests, this grey bibbed, rufous bellied bird with a prominent dark eyestripe and broad white brow was grouped along with the grey-breasted subspecies of the black-chinned laughingthrush and known as the grey-breasted laughingthrush. The nominate subspecies is found in the Palni Hills and meridionale with a shorter white brow is found in the high hills south of the Achankovil Gap.
This species has a dark grey-brown crown and narrow dark grey eyestripe with a broad white supercilium above it. This supercilium extends behind the eye in the nominate subspecies but stops above the eye in subspecies meridionale. The throat is distinctly grey unlike in the black-chinned laughingthrush found north of the Palghat Gap and continues into the upper breast. The grey of the upper breast is faintly streaked in brown. The lower breast and belly is rusty brown and the upper parts are olive brown. The iris is dark red or red-brown. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field.
They feed on the nectar of flowers of Lobelia excelsa, Rhododendron and Strobilanthes species. They also feed on the petals of some flowers such as Strobilanthes and the fruits of a range of plants including Viburnum, Eurya, Rubus and Rhodomyrtus tomentosa.
The contact calls are very loud series of steeply ascending notes pee-koko... pee-koko followed by more abrupt notes. Numerous other vocalizations such as a low kweer calls are produced in other behavioural contexts. Some calls appear to be antiphonal duets.[INFO:WIKIPEDIA]
