Variegated Laughingthrush
Trochalopteron variegatum
Soft brown laughingthrush with a yellowish-white cheek patch and a diffuse black mask. Also note small white “teardrop” behind the eye. A species of middle to high elevations, ranging up above the treeline. Favors open forest and forest edge; often closely associated with rhododendrons. Short ringing song has a somewhat slurred, twangy quality.
Identification
The variegated laughingthrush is a medium-sized laughingthrush typically 24-26 centimeters in length and weighs 57-79 grams. Both subspecies have a black stripe down the center of the throat and are overall olive and buffy in appearance. The large tail has a gray subterminal band with a white tip. The color of the outer rectrices vary based on the subspecies. T. v. variegatum has distinctive yellow primary and secondary feathers with cinnamon-tipped greater coverts and black primary coverts. T. v. variegatum has yellow outer rectrices. The area around the beak is black up until the eye, which is broken with a white eye-ring. Buff area at the base of the mandible fades to whitish. The T. v. variegatum subspecies has buff forehead with a brownish gray crown.<p>T. v. simile is similar to T. v. variegatum except it has gray primary and secondary feathers along with gray outer rectrices. The area around the lower mandible is whiter in this subspecies and the buff on the forehead is more dull.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Trochalopteron variegatum
- Authority
- (Vigors, 1831)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Trochalopteron
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

Great Tit
Parus major
Conspicuous inhabitant of woods, forests, parks, gardens, and hedges in farmland. Often visits bird feeders and uses nest boxes. Plumage is distinctive, with white cheeks surrounded by a black cap and bib. Male has a broader black stripe down belly than the female, and the juvenile (seen in summer–early autumn) has yellowish wash to face and drabber plumage overall. Underparts are bright yellow throughout much of range, but “Turkestan Tit” of Central Asia has a white belly. Appreciably larger and more boldly patterned than Eurasian Blue Tit, which often occurs alongside it. Listen for its distinctive high-pitched up-and-down song: “tsee-dee-tsee-dee-tsee-dee” and chattering scolds.

Sumatran Green-Pigeon
Treron oxyurus
Relatively plain and unmarked green-pigeon with a long pointed tail. Males have a faint orange blush on the chest, though this can be hard to notice. Note blue-green bill and “goggles” in both sexes. Completely unmarked dark olive-green wings separate this species from other green-pigeons within its range; Wedge-tailed Green-Pigeon can be similar, but note that species’ much more thickset build and shorter tail. Endemic to the hill forests of Sumatra and western Java. Like other green-pigeons, gathers in fruiting trees. Gives rising and falling series of high-pitched coos, often with a hiccuping or sobbing quality.

Spot-winged Falconet
Spiziapteryx circumcincta
Small, distinctive falcon of the Chaco from central Argentina to SE Bolivia and W Paraguay, often seen on tall, exposed perches. Small size and bold white supercilium and malar distinctive. Generally uncommon and in low density throughout range. Call distinctive for a raptor: a slightly warbled, full “skyoot” note given repeatedly.
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