Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dist. Nainital, Uttarakhand Himalayas, Alt. 5500 ft., India, October-2018
- Pterorhinus rufogularis
Garrulax rufogularis
Identification
Photo © by Shantilal Varu
Sat Tal, Utrakhand, India, October 2014
23 - 25.5 cm (9-10 in). A fairly large, variable laughingthrush.
- Black crown
- Black subterminal tail-band
- Brown, heavily scaled upperparts
- Greyish underparts with black spots
- Prominent pale buff lore-spot
- Broad black moustache
- Rufous vent
Amount of rufous on chin highly variable.
Distribution
Found in the Himalayas from Pakistan over India and Nepal to Bhutan, adjacent south China and in the hills of Burma. A disjunct population in northern Vietnam.
Probably extinct in Pakistan. Generally uncommon and easily overlooked.
Taxonomy
Also placed in the genus Ianthocincla and Garrulax
Subspecies
Six subspecies recognized[1]:
- P. r. occidentalis from northeast Pakistan over north India to western Nepal.
- P. r. rufogularis from central Nepal east to Bhutan and northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh)
- P. r. rufitinctus in Meghalaya (northeast India)
- P. r. rufiberbis from southeast Arunachal Pradesh (India) to north and northeast Burma and south China (Yunnan)
- P. r. assamensis in the northeast Indian hill states (except Meghalaya) and northwest Burma
- P. r. intensior in northwest Vietnam
Habitat
Moist lowland forests and montanes with dense undergrowth. Found from 600m to 1980m, locally higher.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects, berries and seeds.
Forages on or close to the ground in small family groups. Not so gregarious as other laughingthrushes.
Breeding
Breeding season from April to September in India and Bhutan. The nest is a deep cup made of creeper tendrils, twigs, roots, scraps of bracken, dead leaves and grasses. It's placed in a fork of a bush or a tree, 0.6 to 6m above the ground. Lays 2 - 4 eggs. Parasitized by Chestnut-winged Cuckoo and Large Hawk-Cuckoo.
Movements
Resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous-chinned_Laughingthrush
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
