Family Leiothrichidae, Laughingthrushes
The Laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. 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.
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.
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.
The below galleries have 34 species of Laughingthrushes, Babblers, Minla and others. Follow the links on the images for the larger galleries.
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush (Garrulax monileger) Thailand
White-crested Laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) Thailand
White-necked Laughingthrush (Garrulax strepitans) Thailand
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus pectoralis)
Black-throated Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus (Garrulax) chinensis) Thailand
White-browed Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus sannio) Thailand
Masked Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus perspicullatus) Viet Nam
Chinese babax (Pterorhinus lanceolatus) China
Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus mitratus) Malaysia
Rusty Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus poecilorhynchus) China
Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron erythrocephalum) Thailand
Malayan Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae) Malaysia
Elliot’s Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron elliotii) China
Black-faced Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron affine) Tangjiehe China
Silver-eared Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron melanostigma) Thailand
Himalayan Cutia (Cutia nipalensis) Thailand
Rufous-backed Sibia (Leioptila annectens) Thailand
Palani (Kerala) laughingthrush (Montecincla fairbanki) Kerala India
Spectacled Barwing (Actinodura ramsayi) Thailand
Blue-winged Minla (Actinodura cyanouroptera) Thailand
Bar-throated Minla (Actinodura strigula) Thailand
Silver-eared Mesia (Leiothrix argentauris) Thailand Population
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea) China
Scarlet-faced Liocichla (Liocichla ripponi) Thailand
Dark-backed sibia (Heterophasia melanoleuca) Thailand
Black-headed sibia or Desgodin's sibia (Heterophasia desgodinsi) China
Long-tailed sibia (Heterophasia picaoides) Malaysia
Indian Rufous Babbler (Argya subrufa) India
Jungle Babbler (Argya striata) India
Large Grey Babbler (Argya malcolmi) India
Yellow-billed Babbler (Argya affinis) Sri Lanka
Ashy-headed Laughingthrush (Argya cinereifrons) Sri Lanka
Arrow Marked Babbler (Turdoides jardineii) East and South Africa
Scaly Babbler (Turdoides squamulata) Ethiopia & Kenya