Orange-breasted Laughingthrush
Garrulax annamensis
Dull-brown laughingthrush with a dark throat, speckled orange breast, and a thin ochre-orange line curving elegantly over the eye. Dark bill is heavy-looking and somewhat corvid-like. Restricted to the Langbian Plateau in southern Vietnam, where it is unlikely to be confused with any other species. Inhabits foothill and submontane forest, forest edge, and scrubby areas with dense ground cover. Forages low in dense vegetation or on the ground, usually in pairs of flocks. Can be difficult to see as it scratches about furtively. Musical song is quite beautiful and incorporates some mimicry.
Identification
The orange-breasted laughingthrush (Garrulax annamensis) is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the spot-breasted laughingthrush (G. merulinus) but has now been split as a separate species. It is a medium-sized bird with a strong bill and legs and a fairly long tail. It is 24–25 cm long with a bill length of 25–27 mm, a wing length of 83–92 mm and a tail length of 88–100 mm. It is mostly plain brown apart from an orange stripe over the eye, a black throat and an orange breast with black streaks. It has a loud, melodious song. The spot-breasted laughingthrush is similar but has a pale throat and breast with dark spots and a pale stripe above the eye. It is endemic to Vietnam where it occurs in the Da Lat Plateau in southern Annam. It inhabits montane forest between 915 and 1510 m above sea-level and can survive in degraded habitats such as secondary forest and cultivated land close to forested areas. It is most often seen in pairs. Habitat loss and trapping for the caged bird trade has extirpated the species in parts of its already small range. It is classified since 2024 as Endangered by BirdLife International, particularly because the species is susceptible to lose large percentages of the global population rapidly.
Taxonomy
Genus: Garrulax; Family: Leiothrichidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Garrulax annamensis
- Authority
- (Robinson & Kloss, 1919)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Garrulax
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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An elongated black bird with a coppery-purple metallic sheen and a long, decurved red-orange bill. The juvenile has a dark bill, but is often in the company of adults. The species flies heavily with the white-tipped tail dangling. Pairs and groups of 3-12 are highly social, occupying arid savanna, woodland, and riverine forest along the Namib escarpment, where they nest and roost in natural cavities. They clamber in trees, probing bark and crevices for insects and small vertebrates, and communicate using a strong cackling chatter that is almost maniacal. The almost identical Green Woodhoopoe (with which this species sometimes hybridizes) only differs from Violet Woodhoopoe by having a glossy-greenish (not coppery-purple) metallic sheen.
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Small falcon, usually seen in and around forest clearings or perched up on high vantage points such as snags and telecommunication towers from which it hawks for its prey. Dark gray above with brick-red underparts and a white throat and collar. One of very few small falcons throughout much of its range; can be confused with migratory Eurasian Hobby, which lacks the reddish underparts.
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