Ashambu Laughingthrush
Montecincla meridionalis
This is the only montane laughingthrush in its range and hence unmistakable. From forehead to nape it is pale brown with indistinct gray streaking. Short whitish eyebrow does not extend prominently behind the eye. Upperparts cold gray-brown, wings and tail browner; chin and breast whitish with broad gray streaking, central belly and vent white, flanks and sides of vent rufous-chestnut. Inhabits stunted montane and reed-bamboo forests; seen in pairs or noisy flocks, producing a melodious “pee-koo-pee-koo” song and several other chatters intermingled with musical notes. Heard more often than seen; its songs and calls are usually the first indication of its presence.
Identification
The Ashambu laughingthrush or Travancore laughingthrush (Montecincla meridionalis) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in the Western Ghats in southern Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the grey-breasted laughingthrush. It is closely related to the Palani laughingthrush and can be differentiated from it by its very short white brow that stops before the eye. The species is found in the high hills and is part of a complex of several species which are thought to have speciated by being isolated in the cool tops of the higher hills of southern India as the climate became warmer. Earlier included in other genera, they were placed in a newly established genus in 2017.
Taxonomy
Genus: Montecincla; Family: Leiothrichidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Montecincla meridionalis
- Authority
- (Blanford, 1880)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Montecincla
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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