White-necked Laughingthrush
Garrulax strepitans
Brown with a russet crown, black face and throat, and a small white patch on the upper neck. Looks like a darker-headed version of the similar Gray Laughingthrush. Gives the namesake maniacal laugh of its family as it moves around in flocks. Forages in the undergrowth of foothill and upper-elevation broadleaved forest.
Identification
The adult white-necked laughingthrush is about 32 cm (13 in) long and has a chestnut crown, a brownish-black face and throat and a rather diffuse white collar separating these from the body. The general plumage is a pale brownish-grey. The iris is dark, and the bill and legs are grey. It has a distinctive laughing call. It resembles the grey laughingthrush (Garrulax maesi) apart from the darker head.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Garrulax strepitans
- Authority
- Blyth, 1855
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Garrulax
Range and habitat
The white-necked laughingthrush is native to tropical southeastern Asia. Its range includes central and northern Thailand, eastern Myanmar, western Laos and Yunnan province in southwestern China. Its altitudinal range is between 500 and 1,800 m (1,600 and 5,900 ft). It typically occurs in lowland and montane broad-leaved forest and scrubland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Pirre Chlorospingus
Chlorospingus inornatus
Fairly small tanager-like sparrow with an extremely tiny range in the foothills of eastern Panama, from around 800–1,200 m. Distinctive in range: olive-brownish overall with brighter yellow-ochre underparts, darker blackish face, and staring pale eye. Like other chlorospingus, typically found in small groups, often with a mixed-species flock. Usually sticks to the understory or middle levels of humid forest.
Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper
Lochmias nematura
Distinctive. Fairly small, plump, and short-tailed. Dark brown above with bold white spotting on underparts. Bill is slightly decurved. Disjunct range. Populations in Venezuelan tepuis and southeastern South America have bold white eyebrow; Andean birds lack this. Almost always found in the vicinity of forested streams, but tends to stay hidden, foraging on or near the ground. Uncommon.
Cuban Crow
Corvus nasicus
A large, black gregarious species of open woodlands, palm savannahs, and human settlements (including agricultural areas and garbage dumps) near woodlands; often found in flocks of up to fifty birds. The similar Palm Crow has a much shorter bill with extensive feathering on top. The Palm Crow also has a flat, harsh “raaah” unlike the Cuban Crow’s “whih waaa” call with the first note inflected upward and the second note downward. Cuban Crows also have a number of shrieking and harsh burbling noises.
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