Laughingthrushes
The Laughingthrushes are the genus Garrulax of the large Old World babbler family of passerine birds. They occur in tropical Asia, with the greatest number of species occurring in the Himalaya and southern China.
These are rangy, medium-sized, floppy-tailed landbirds with soft fluffy plumage. These birds have strong legs and are quite terrestrial. This group is not strongly migratory, and most species have short rounded wings, and a weak flight.
A few, like the Streaked Laughingthrush occur in fairly open habitats, but most are jungle species, difficult to observe in the dense vegetation they prefer.
Like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and the characteristic laughing calls are often the best indication that these birds are present. As with other babbler species, they frequently occur in groups of up to a dozen, and the rainforest species like the Ashy-headed Laughingthrush often occur in the mixed feeding flocks typical of tropical Asian jungle.
White-crested Laughingthrush
Garrulax leucolophus
Systematics
As with some other babblers, this genus has turned out to be highly polyphyletic. Rather than forming a natural evolutionary group of closest relatives, the laughingthrushes are spread about the entire babbler family. This is quite apparent by their diverse morphology and presence of several groups with distinct color patterns, but the rarity of several species and the sheer number of taxa have hitherto prevented a thorough revision. Before this paraphyly was realized to be as dramatic as it is, it was generally assumed that the laughingthrushes were a clade comprising several subgenera.
This has much confounded further research: most molecular phylogeny studies, for example, used only the White-crested Laughingthrush as an "example" of this "genus", because specimens were readily available. Morphological studies, on the other hand, had usually more material at their disposal, but these too were generally conducted under a false assumption of monophyly. A 2003 study,analyzing mtDNA cytochrome b and 12S/16S rRNA data of a number of laughingthrushes, did establish however that there is no such thing as a "representative" laughingthrush. Consequently most of the work regarding the evolution of this assemblage needs to be evaluated anew and if necessary even redone. Indeed, the taxon Garrulax would need to be restricted to the type species (Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush) and its closest relatives, but the species generally considered the most likely candidates have not been comprehensively studied in recent times.
Streaked Laughingthrush
Garrulax lineatus
Species list
The list below uses the treatment of the laughingthrushes by Birds of South Asiaand the Handbook of Birds of the World as a baseline, acknowledging the polyphyly of Garrulax and attempting to reorganise it into monophyletic genera.
This list is by no means the last word on the subject though, and it is very likely that some of the new groups will be revised, expanded or split as more species are studied in the future; additional laughingthrushes are presently elevated to species status and even hitherto unknown taxa are discovered at a rate of about 1-2 per year. Some proposed small or monotypic genera on the other hand might ultimately be merged with others for convenience if they turn out to be sister taxa. All in all, the resolution of the laughingthrush assemblage's taxonomy depends on a resolution of the Old World babblers' systematics in general.
Red-winged Laughingthrush
Garrulax formosus
Genus Garrulax -
References
^ Cibois (2003)
^ Cibois (2003), Pasquet et al. (2006)
^ Rasmussen & Anderton (2005)
^ Collar & Robson (2007)
Cibois, Alice (2003a): Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny of Babblers (Timaliidae). Auk 120(1): 1-20. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0035:MDPOBT]2.0.CO;2 HTML fulltext without images
Collar, N.J. & Robson, Craig (2007): Family Timaliidae (Babblers). In: del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Christie, D.A. (eds.): Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 12 (Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees): 70-291. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Pasquet, Eric; Bourdon, Estelle; Kalyakin, Mikhail V. & Cibois, Alice (2006). The fulvettas (Alcippe), Timaliidae, Aves): a polyphyletic group. Zoologica Scripta 35, 559–566. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00253.x (HTML abstract)
Rasmussen, Pamela C. & Anderton, J.C. (2005): Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington DC and Barcelona.
These are rangy, medium-sized, floppy-tailed landbirds with soft fluffy plumage. These birds have strong legs and are quite terrestrial. This group is not strongly migratory, and most species have short rounded wings, and a weak flight.
A few, like the Streaked Laughingthrush occur in fairly open habitats, but most are jungle species, difficult to observe in the dense vegetation they prefer.
Like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and the characteristic laughing calls are often the best indication that these birds are present. As with other babbler species, they frequently occur in groups of up to a dozen, and the rainforest species like the Ashy-headed Laughingthrush often occur in the mixed feeding flocks typical of tropical Asian jungle.
 |
White-crested Laughingthrush
Garrulax leucolophus
Systematics
As with some other babblers, this genus has turned out to be highly polyphyletic. Rather than forming a natural evolutionary group of closest relatives, the laughingthrushes are spread about the entire babbler family. This is quite apparent by their diverse morphology and presence of several groups with distinct color patterns, but the rarity of several species and the sheer number of taxa have hitherto prevented a thorough revision. Before this paraphyly was realized to be as dramatic as it is, it was generally assumed that the laughingthrushes were a clade comprising several subgenera.
This has much confounded further research: most molecular phylogeny studies, for example, used only the White-crested Laughingthrush as an "example" of this "genus", because specimens were readily available. Morphological studies, on the other hand, had usually more material at their disposal, but these too were generally conducted under a false assumption of monophyly. A 2003 study,analyzing mtDNA cytochrome b and 12S/16S rRNA data of a number of laughingthrushes, did establish however that there is no such thing as a "representative" laughingthrush. Consequently most of the work regarding the evolution of this assemblage needs to be evaluated anew and if necessary even redone. Indeed, the taxon Garrulax would need to be restricted to the type species (Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush) and its closest relatives, but the species generally considered the most likely candidates have not been comprehensively studied in recent times.
 |
Streaked Laughingthrush
Garrulax lineatus
Species list
The list below uses the treatment of the laughingthrushes by Birds of South Asiaand the Handbook of Birds of the World as a baseline, acknowledging the polyphyly of Garrulax and attempting to reorganise it into monophyletic genera.
This list is by no means the last word on the subject though, and it is very likely that some of the new groups will be revised, expanded or split as more species are studied in the future; additional laughingthrushes are presently elevated to species status and even hitherto unknown taxa are discovered at a rate of about 1-2 per year. Some proposed small or monotypic genera on the other hand might ultimately be merged with others for convenience if they turn out to be sister taxa. All in all, the resolution of the laughingthrush assemblage's taxonomy depends on a resolution of the Old World babblers' systematics in general.
Red-winged Laughingthrush
Garrulax formosus
Genus Garrulax -
- Chinese Hwamei, Garrulax canorus
- Taiwan Hwamei, Garrulax taewanus
- White-necked Laughingthrush, Garrulax strepitans
- White-crested Laughingthrush, Garrulax leucolophus
- Sumatran Laughingthrush, Garrulax bicolor
- Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Garrulax monileger
- Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Garrulax pectoralis
- White-throated Laughingthrush, Garrulax albogularis
- Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficeps
- Masked Laughingthrush, Garrulax perspicillatus
- Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Garrulax rufifrons
- Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, Garrulax cinereifrons
- Sunda Laughingthrush, Garrulax palliatus
- Grey Laughingthrush, Garrulax maesi
- Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush, Garrulax castanotis
- Black-hooded Laughingthrush, Garrulax milleti
- Kon Tum Black-hooded Laughingthrush, Garrulax milleti sweeti
- Cambodian Laughingthrush, Garrulax ferrarius
- Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush, Garrulax sukatschewi
- Moustached Laughingthrush, Garrulax cineracea
- Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush, Garrulax rufogularis
- Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush, Garrulax konkakinhensis
- Barred Laughingthrush, Garrulax lunulata
- White-speckled Laughingthrush, Garrulax bieti
- Giant Laughingthrush, Garrulax maxima
- Spotted Laughingthrush, Garrulax ocellata
- Grey-sided Laughingthrush, Garrulax caerulatus
- Rusty Laughingthrush, Garrulax poecilorhynchus
- Buffy Laughingthrush, Garrulax berthemyi
- Black-throated Laughingthrush, Garrulax chinensis
- Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush, Garrulax nuchalis
- Rufous-vented Laughingthrush, Garrulax gularis
- Wynaad Laughingthrush, Garrulax delesserti
- Blue-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax courtoisi
- Yellow-throated Laughingthrush, Garrulax galbanus
- White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Garrulax vassali
- Rufous-necked Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficollis
- Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, Garrulax mitratus
- White-browed Laughingthrush, Garrulax sannio
- Plain Laughingthrush, Garrulax davidi
- Black Laughingthrush, Garrulax lugubris
- Bare-headed Laughingthrush, Garrulax calvus
- Striated Laughingthrush, Garrulax striatus
- Spot-breasted Laughingthrush, Garrulax merulinus
- Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, Garrulax annamensis
- Black-chinned Laughingthrush, Garrulax cachinnans
- Kerala Laughingthrush, Garrulax fairbanki
- Bhutan Laughingthrush, Garrulax imbricatus
- Streaked Laughingthrush, Garrulax lineatus
- Striped Laughingthrush, Garrulax virgatus
- Brown-capped Laughingthrush,Garrulax austeni
- Scaly Laughingthrush, Garrulax subunicolor
- Blue-winged Laughingthrush, Garrulax squamatus
- Brown-cheeked Laughingthrush, Garrulax henrici
- Elliot's Laughingthrush, Garrulax elliotii
- Variegated Laughingthrush, Garrulax variegatus
- White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Garrulax morrisonianus
- Black-faced Laughingthrush, Garrulax affine
- Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax erythrocephalus
- Assam Laughingthrush, Garrulax chrysopterus
- Silver-eared Laughingthrush, Garrulax melanostigma
- Malayan Laughingthrush, Garrulax peninsulae
- Golden-winged Laughingthrush, Garrulax ngoclinhense
- Collared Laughingthrush, Garrulax yersini
- Red-winged Laughingthrush, Garrulax formosus
- Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Garrulax milnei
References
^ Cibois (2003)
^ Cibois (2003), Pasquet et al. (2006)
^ Rasmussen & Anderton (2005)
^ Collar & Robson (2007)
Cibois, Alice (2003a): Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny of Babblers (Timaliidae). Auk 120(1): 1-20. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0035:MDPOBT]2.0.CO;2 HTML fulltext without images
Collar, N.J. & Robson, Craig (2007): Family Timaliidae (Babblers). In: del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Christie, D.A. (eds.): Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 12 (Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees): 70-291. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Pasquet, Eric; Bourdon, Estelle; Kalyakin, Mikhail V. & Cibois, Alice (2006). The fulvettas (Alcippe), Timaliidae, Aves): a polyphyletic group. Zoologica Scripta 35, 559–566. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00253.x (HTML abstract)
Rasmussen, Pamela C. & Anderton, J.C. (2005): Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington DC and Barcelona.
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