Alternative name: Spotted-breasted Laughingthrush
- Garrulax merulinus
Stactocichla merulina
Identification
26 - 26cm. A medium-sized brown laughingthrush.
- Dark brown plumage
- Prominent dark spots on buffy throat and breast
- Narrow white postocular stripe
- Rather long bill and short tail
Juveniles are paler, more rufous and much weaker spotted.
Distribution
Patchily distributed in southeast Asia from northeast India and south China to Burma, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
In most of its range uncommon or scarce.
Taxonomy
Often placed in genus Stactocichla.
Orange-breasted Laughingthrush has been included as a subspecies in this species.
Subspecies
Two to three subspecies accepted[1]:
- T. m. merulinus in northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh to Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur), western and northern Burma and south China (western Yunnan)
- T. m. laoensis in northwest Thailand (merged with obscurus by Clements)
- T. m. obscurus in southeast Yunnan (China), north Laos and north Vietnam
Habitat
Understorey of broadleaf evergreen forest, bamboo, densely overgrown abandoned cultivation and dense secondary growth and scrub. Usually between 800m to 2000m.
Behaviour
No information about diet.
Shy and very skulking. Usually seen foraging on the ground singly, in pairs or in small groups.
Breeding
Breeding season April to July. The nest is a shallow cup made of moss, roots, grass, leaves and fern fronds. It's placed low in undergrowth of ferns or brambles in thick scrub. Lays 2 -3 eggs.
Resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- 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. (2024) Spot-breasted Laughingthrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Spot-breasted_Laughingthrush
