Striated Laughingthrush

A powerfully built terrestrial bird of remote northern Chinese and Siberian taiga. Male massive, with glossy black head and chest, white-spotted brown wings, and fiery red stripe above the eye. Female smaller, with brown head and neck and black-striped body. Male displays with neck stretched upward and broad black tail tilted up and fanned. Males engage in fierce battles on leks during courtship season.

A small dark starling of dry country. The upperparts are iridescent, with a blue sheen on the head and green on most of the wing. Also note the chestnut underparts and the yellow-orange eye. Found in dry thorn savanna and thorn scrub, usually in small wandering flocks, often with other species of starlings. Similar to Hildebrandt’s Starling, but slightly smaller and darker overall, with a deeper rufous belly and a less contrasting green wing. Also reminiscent of Superb Starling, but doesn’t have a white chest band. Gives mewing calls, often in a long, continuous series. 

Minute woodpecker of lowland and foothill forests, where it forages in areas with dense low vegetation at the lower and middle levels. Predominantly rusty orange, with an olive-green crown and wings and a small but bright white eyebrow; the very similar Rufous Piculet lacks a pale brow. Male White-broweds have a bright yellow patch on the forehead which females lack. Often solitary, but can be found in small flocks and mixed-species foraging groups. Gives an explosive, squeaky, often descending chatter and sharp “chip” notes.