Laughingthrushes | |
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White-crested laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Superfamily: | Sylvioidea |
Family: | Leiothrichidae Swainson, 1832 |
Genera | |
16; see article text |
The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. The family contains 133 species which are divided into 16 genera. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire family used to be included in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae.
They are small to medium-sized birds. They have strong legs, and many are quite terrestrial. They typically have generalised bills, similar to those of a thrush. Most have predominantly brown plumage, with minimal difference between the sexes, but many more brightly coloured species also exist. [1]
This group is not strongly migratory, and most species have short rounded wings, and a weak flight. They live in lightly wooded or scrubland environments, ranging from swamp to near-desert. They are primarily insectivorous, although many will also take berries, and the larger species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates. [1]
The family Leiothrichidae was introduced (as a subfamily Leiotrichanae) by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1832. [2] A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the family published in 2018 led to substantial revision of the taxonomic classification. [3] The laughingthrushes in the genus Garrulax were found to belong to three separate clades that had diverged in the Miocene 7-9 million year ago. The genus was therefore split with Garrulax restricted to one clade and the genera Pterorhinus and Ianthocincla resurrected for the other two clades. The genus Turdoides was also split and species moved into the resurrected genus Argya . [3] [4]
In a separate change, the crocias were moved to the genus Laniellus Swainson, 1832 which has priority over Crocias Temminck, 1836. [4] [5] [6]
The cladogram below is based on a study of the babblers by Tianlong Cai and collaborators published in 2019. [7] [4]
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The cladogram below shows the phylogenetic relationships between the genera in the family Leiothrichidae based on a study by Alice Cibois and collaborators published in 2018. [3]
Leiothrichidae |
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The family contains 133 species in 16 genera: [4]
The orange-billed babbler, also known as Ceylon rufous babbler or Sri Lankan rufous babbler, is a member of the family Leiothrichidae.
Garrulax is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae.
The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a member of the family Leiothrichidae. The laughingthrushes are a large family of Old World passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in southeast Asia.
The Chinese babax is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in China, Hong Kong, India, and Myanmar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The black-throated laughingthrush is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It occurs as an introduced species in Hong Kong. Based on a combination of strong morphological and genetic evidence, the subspecies on Hainan Island is treated as a distinct species by some authors, Swinhoe's laughingthrush.
The Wayanad laughingthrush is a species of laughingthrush in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of Goa in India. These laughingthrushes move in groups in dense forests, producing loud calls but tend to be hard to spot in the undergrowth. They have brown upperparts, a white throat, a broad black mask through the eye and a heavy bill with pale yellow on the lower mandible. Despite the name, derived from the Wayanad region, this species has a wider range than the four other south Indian species of laughingthrush that are restricted to the higher elevation hills.
The rufous-vented laughingthrush is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The chestnut-capped laughingthrush, also known as the spectacled laughingthrush, is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Sumatra (Indonesia) and the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush was previously considered a subspecies.
The greater necklaced laughingthrush is a species of passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. It is introduced to the United States. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The white-browed laughingthrush is a bird in the family Leiothrichidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1867. It is found in China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The striated laughingthrush is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It was at one time placed in the genus Garrulax but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to be the only species in the resurrected genus Grammatoptila.
The snowy-cheeked laughingthrush, also known as Sukatschev's laughingthrush, is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to northern China where its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The capuchin babbler is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae.
The Iraq babbler is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae, native to reed beds of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. It is found in Iraq and south-western Iran.
The scaly chatterer is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is also known as the bare-eyed babbler. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The white-throated babbler is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to Myanmar.
The rufous chatterer is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Argya is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. The species are distributed across Africa and southern Asia and are typically fairly large, long-tailed birds that forage in noisy groups. Members of this genus were formerly placed in the genera Turdoides and Garrulax.
The rufous-crowned laughingthrush is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to Taiwan. It was previously considered conspecific with the white-throated laughingthrush, P. albogularis.
Pterorhinus is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae.