Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush - BirdForum Opus

Photo by china guy
Hainan, China, February 2010

Garrulax castanotis

Identification

28 - 30.5cm. A fairly large laughingthrush:

• Plain grey plumage
• Black face (lores, area around the eye, chin), throat and upper breast black
• Rufous-chestnut headside patch, varennei with smaller, white patch
• Dark grey tail

Sexes similar, juveniles more brownish.

Distribution

Found on Hainan, China, in northern Vietnam and east Laos.
Locally common in its range.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies recognized:

• G. c. castanotis on Hainan (southern China)
• G. c. varennei in north Vietnam and adjacent east Laos

Was formerly considered conspecific with Grey Laughingthrush.
This species would remain in the genus Garrulax in a rearrangement of the genus.

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest, found at 400 - 1700m.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects.
Usually seen in groups of ten or more birds, often together with other species in bird waves. Forages on the ground in leaf litter but also ascends to middle storey.
No information on breeding.
Resident species.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
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

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous-cheeked_Laughingthrush

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