Palani laughingthrush

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Palani laughingthrush
Grey-breasted Laughing thrush1.jpg
in the Meghamalai
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Leiothrichidae
Genus: Montecincla
Species:
M. fairbanki
Binomial name
Montecincla fairbanki
(Blanford, 1869) [2]
TrochalopteronCachinnansMap.svg
Synonyms

Garrulax jerdoni fairbanki
Strophocincla fairbanki
Trochalopteron fairbanki

Contents

The Palani laughingthrush (Montecincla fairbanki) is a species of laughingthrush endemic to the hills of the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap in Southern India. Found in the high montane forests, this grey bibbed, rufous bellied bird with a prominent dark eyestripe and broad white brow was grouped along with the grey-breasted subspecies of the black-chinned laughingthrush and known as the grey-breasted laughingthrush. This species is found in the Palni Hills while another closely related form, the Ashambu laughingthrush (Montecincla meridionalis) with a shorter white brow is found in the high hills south of the Achankovil Gap and was treated as a subspecies. The two forms were together treated under the name of Kerala laughingthrush.

Description

Montecincla meridionalis from the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve) Grey breasted laughing thrush- Asambu Hill Race.jpg
Montecincla meridionalis from the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve)

This species has a dark grey-brown crown and narrow dark grey eyestripe with a broad white supercilium above it. This supercilium extends behind the eye in this species but stops above the eye in the closely related meridionalis. The throat is distinctly grey unlike in the black-chinned laughingthrush found north of the Palghat Gap and continues into the upper breast. The grey of the upper breast is faintly streaked in brown. The lower breast and belly is rusty brown and the upper parts are olive brown. The bill is browner and not as dark grey as in the black-chinned. The Ashambu laughingthrush (M. meridionalis) which was earlier treated as a subspecies has greyer upper plumage, paler crown and the centre of the belly is white with chestnut brown on the flanks and vent. The iris is dark red or red-brown. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field. [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy

This species was described from the Kodaikanal region on the basis of a specimen obtained by Rev. Samuel Bacon Fairbank and came to be called the Pulney laughing-thrush. [2] The lack of the black chin of jerdoni was noted even when this species was first described but it was made into a subspecies under jerdoni in the second edition of The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma in 1922 by Stuart Baker. [2] [6] In 1880 Blanford described meridionale based on a specimen obtained by F. W. Bourdillon. [7] The close relationship of meridionale and fairbanki was noticed by William Ruxton Davison in 1883. [8] The current regrouping of the forms, considering the Palghat Gap as a biogeographic barrier and giving importance to the chin colour, was introduced in 2005 by Pamela C. Rasmussen and Anderton. [3] [4] A study published in 2017 found that the species was best placed in a new genus Montecincla and that based on the divergence, meridionale is best treated as a full species. [9]

Behaviour and ecology

Feeding on a berry Kerala Laughingthrush by N.A. Nazeer.jpg
Feeding on a berry

They are found in pairs and small groups and they sometimes join mixed-species feeding flocks. They feed on the nectar of flowers of Lobelia excelsa , Rhododendron and Strobilanthes species. They also feed on the petals of some flowers such as Strobilanthes and the fruits of a range of plants including Viburnum , Eurya , Rubus and Rhodomyrtus tomentosa . [11]

The breeding season is December to June but peaking in April and May. The nest is a cup of grass with moss and lined with fine fibre placed in a low fork hidden in dense vegetation. [12] The usual clutch is two blue eggs with reddish markings and indistinguishable from those of the black-chinned laughingthrush. [3] [10] When the nest is predated or after the young fledge, the nest is destroyed. The nests of other birds in the vicinity may also be torn up by the parent birds. Unhatched eggs may also be eaten by the parent birds. [10] [13]

The contact calls are very loud series of steeply ascending notes pee-koko... pee-koko followed by more abrupt notes. [5] Numerous other vocalizations such as a low kweer calls are produced in other behavioural contexts. Some calls appear to be antiphonal duets. [3]

Distribution

This species is restricted south of the Palghat Gap with the main distribution range in the higher regions (above 1,100 metres (3,600 ft)) of the Palani Hills extending into the Annamalai Hills in western Tamil Nadu and Munnar in Kerala. The nominate subspecies is found north of the Achankovil gap while meridionale is found in the hills to the south of it. [3] In the Palni Hills, their densities varied across locations ranging from 1.4 birds per hectare at Kukkal, 0.5/ha at Poombarai, 0.33/ha at Kodaikanal Botanical gardens, 0.16/ha on the golf course and 0.22/ha at Paricombai. [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

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Dark-fronted babbler Species of bird

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White-crested laughingthrush Species of bird

The white-crested laughingthrush is a member of the family Leiothrichidae. It is a highly social and vocal bird found in forest and scrub from the Himalayan foothills to Southeast Asia.

Common hawk-cuckoo Species of bird

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Nilgiri laughingthrush Species of bird

The Nilgiri laughingthrush is a species of laughingthrush endemic to the high elevation areas of the Nilgiris and adjoining hill ranges in Peninsular India. The mostly rufous underparts, olive brown upperparts, a prominent white eyebrow and a black throat make it unmistakable. It is easily detected by its loud series of nasal call notes and can be hard to spot when it is hidden away inside a patch of dense vegetation. The species has a confusing taxonomic history, leading to a range of names. In the past the species was considered to have two subspecies, the nominate form in the Nilgiris and jerdoni with a grey upper breast and found in the Brahmagiris of Coorg and Banasura range of Wayanad. They are omnivorous, feeding on a range of insects, berries and nectar.

Large hawk-cuckoo Species of bird

The large hawk-cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It has a wide breeding distribution from temperate Asia along the Himalayas extending to East Asia. Many populations winter further south. They are known for their loud and repetitive calls which are similar to that of the common hawk-cuckoo but do not rise in crescendo. They are also somewhat larger and adults can be readily told apart from the smaller common hawk-cuckoo by the black patch on the chin. They are brood-parasites of babblers and laughing-thrushes.

Wayanad laughingthrush Species of bird

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.

Rufous-necked laughingthrush Species of bird

The rufous-necked laughingthrush is a bird species in the laughingthrush family, Leiothrichidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. Little study was done on this species due to its abundance and lack of interest in its conservation.

Rufous-chinned laughingthrush Species of bird

The rufous-chinned laughingthrush is a bird species in the family Leiothrichidae. It ranges across the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent and some parts of Southeast Asia.

White-bellied blue robin Species of bird

The white-bellied blue robin or white-bellied sholakili, is a bird of the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Shola forests of the higher hills of southern India. The Nilgiri blue robin and this species were once considered separate species, later lumped as sub-species of a single species (major) and elevated again to full species in 2005 by Pamela C. Rasmussen. The species was earlier thought to be related to the shortwings and placed in the genus Brachypteryx and later moved to Myiomela since species in the genus Brachypteryx shows marked sexual dimorphism. In 2017, a study found that this is a sister group of the flycatchers in the genera Niltava, Cyornis and Eumyias among others. It was then placed in newly erected genus Sholicola. This small bird is found on the forest floor and undergrowth of dense forest patches sheltered in the valleys of montane grassland, a restricted and threatened habitat.

<i>Trochalopteron</i> Genus of birds

Trochalopteron is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae.

Chestnut-hooded laughingthrush Species of bird endemic to Borneo

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is a species of bird in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae endemic to Borneo. Described by the British ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe as a distinct species in 1879, it was subsequently considered a subspecies of the chestnut-capped laughingthrush until 2007, when it was again raised to species status by the ornithologists Nigel Collar and Craig Robson. It is 22–24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) long, with a chestnut brown head and chin, with grey feathering on the top of the head. The upperparts and the side of the neck are slaty-grey, with a long white wing patch. The throat, breast, and upper belly are dull yellowish-brown, with purer grey flanks and a reddish-brown vent, lower belly, and thighs. It has a yellow half eye-ring behind and below the eye, while the tail has a blackish tip. Both sexes look similar, while juveniles are duller than adults.

<i>Montecincla</i> Genus of birds

Montecincla is a genus of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. All four species in this genus are endemic to “sky islands” in the Western Ghats mountain range of southwestern India, generally above 1,200m elevation.

Banasura laughingthrush Species of bird

The Banasura laughingthrush is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in shola habitat in a small section of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka and northern Kerala. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the black-chinned laughingthrush.

Ashambu laughingthrush Species of bird

The Ashambu laughingthrush or Travancore laughingthrush 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.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Montecincla fairbanki". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T103874452A95109792. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103874452A95109792.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Blanford, WT (1869). "Ornithological Notes, chiefly on some bird of Central, Western and Southern India". J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal. 38: 164–191.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rasmussen, PC; JC Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Washington DC & Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. p. 414.
  4. 1 2 Baker, ECS (1922). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 178–179.
  5. 1 2 Oates, Eugene William (1889). William Thomas Blanford (ed.). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 99–100.
  6. ↑ Jerdon, TC (1872). "Supplementary Notes to 'The Birds of India.'". Ibis. 14 (3): 297–310. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1872.tb08412.x.
  7. ↑ Anonymous (1881). "Notices of recent Ornithological Publications". Ibis. 23 (3): 472–495. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1881.tb06600.x.
  8. ↑ Davison, William (1883). "Notes on some birds collected on the Nilghiris and in parts of Wynaad and southern Mysore". Stray Feathers. 10 (5): 329–419.
  9. ↑ Robin, V.V.; Vishnudas, C. K.; Gupta, Pooja; Rheindt, Frank E.; Hooper, Daniel M.; Ramakrishnan, Uma; Reddy, Sushma (2017). "Two new genera of songbirds represent endemic radiations from the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats, India". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (1): 31. doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-0882-6 . PMC   5259981 . PMID   28114902.
  10. 1 2 3 Ali, S; SD Ripley (1996). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 7 (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 42–44.
  11. ↑ Islam, MA (1987). "Food and feeding habits of the South Indian Laughing Thrushes Garrulax cachinnans and Garrulax jerdoni (Aves: Muscicapidae)". Bangladesh J. Zool. 15: 197–204.
  12. ↑ Bates, R.S.P. (1931). "A note on the nidification and habits of the Travancore Laughing-Thrush (Trochalopterum jerdoni fairbanki)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 35 (1): 204–207.
  13. ↑ Islam, MA (1989). "Nest destruction and cannibalistic behaviour of Laughing Thrushes, Garrulax spp. (Aves: Muscicapidae)". Bangladesh J. Zool. 17 (1): 15–17.
  14. ↑ Somasundaram, S.; Lalitha Vijayan (2007). "An assessment of the population and habitat use of the Grey-breasted Laughing-thrush" (PDF). Annual Report 2006–2007. Anaikatty, Coimbatore: Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History: 19–20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  15. ↑ Ferguson,HS; Bourdillon,TF (1903). "The birds of Travancore, with notes on their nidification". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 15 (2): 249–264.
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