Laughingthrush

The Laughingthrushes are the genus Leiothrichidae 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.

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.

Species list
The list below uses the treatment of the laughingthrushes by Birds of South Asia and 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.

Genus Alcippe
(10 species)
 * Javan Fulvetta, Alcippe pyrrhoptera
 * Brown Fulvetta, Alcippe brunneicauda
 * Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Alcippe poioicephala
 * Black-browed Fulvetta, Alcippe grotei
 * Nepal Fulvetta, Alcippe nipalensis
 * David's Fulvetta, Alcippe davidi
 * Yunnan Fulvetta, Alcippe fratercula
 * Mountain Fulvetta, Alcippe peracensis
 * Huet's Fulvetta, Alcippe hueti
 * Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Alcippe morrisonia

Genus Grammatoptila
(1 species)
 * Striated Laughingthrush, Grammatoptila striata

Genus Cutia
(2 species)
 * Himalayan Cutia, Cutia nipalensis
 * Vietnamese Cutia, Cutia legalleni

Genus Turdoides
(34 species)
 * Spiny Babbler, Turdoides nipalensis
 * Iraq Babbler, Turdoides altirostris
 * Common Babbler, Turdoides caudata
 * Afghan Babbler, Turdoides huttoni
 * White-throated Babbler, Turdoides gularis
 * Striated Babbler, Turdoides earlei
 * Slender-billed Babbler, Turdoides longirostris
 * Large Grey Babbler, Turdoides malcolmi
 * Arabian Babbler, Turdoides squamiceps
 * Fulvous Babbler, Turdoides fulva
 * Scaly Chatterer, Turdoides aylmeri
 * Rufous Chatterer, Turdoides rubiginosa
 * Rufous Babbler, Turdoides subrufa
 * Jungle Babbler, Turdoides striata
 * Orange-billed Babbler, Turdoides rufescens
 * Yellow-billed Babbler, Turdoides affinis
 * Capuchin Babbler, Turdoides atripennis
 * White-throated Mountain Babbler, Turdoides gilberti
 * Red-collared Babbler, Turdoides rufocincta
 * Chapin's Babbler, Turdoides chapini
 * Southern Pied-Babbler, Turdoides bicolor
 * Bare-cheeked Babbler, Turdoides gymnogenys
 * Northern Pied-Babbler, Turdoides hypoleuca
 * Black-faced Babbler, Turdoides melanops
 * Black-lored Babbler, Turdoides sharpei
 * Dusky Babbler, Turdoides tenebrosa
 * Blackcap Babbler, Turdoides reinwardtii
 * Brown Babbler, Turdoides plebejus
 * White-headed Babbler, Turdoides leucocephala
 * Arrow-marked Babbler, Turdoides jardineii
 * Scaly Babbler, Turdoides squamulata
 * White-rumped Babbler, Turdoides leucopygia
 * Hartlaub's Babbler, Turdoides hartlaubii
 * Hinde's Babbler, Turdoides hindei

Genus Leucodioptron
(13 species)


 * Chinese Hwamei, Leucodioptron canorum
 * Taiwan Hwamei, Leucodioptron taewanum
 * Spot-breasted Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron merulinum
 * Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron annamensis
 * Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron monileger
 * White-crested Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron leucolophus
 * Sumatran Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron bicolor
 * Sunda Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron palliatum
 * Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron castanotis
 * Grey Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron maesi
 * Black-hooded Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron milleti
 * Cambodian Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron ferrarius
 * White-necked Laughingthrush, Leucodioptron strepitans

Genus Melanocichla
(2 species)
 * Black Laughingthrush, Melanocichla lugubris
 * Bare-headed Laughingthrush, Melanocichla calva

Genus Ianthocincla
(8 species)
 * Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla sukatschewi
 * Moustached Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla cineracea
 * Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla rufogularis
 * Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla konkakinhensis
 * Spotted Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla ocellata
 * Giant Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla maxima
 * Barred Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla lunulata
 * White-speckled Laughingthrush, Ianthocincla bieti

Genus Garrulax
(25 species)


 * Giant Babax, Garrulax waddelli
 * Tibetan Babax, Garrulax koslowi
 * Mount Victoria Babax, Garrulax woodi
 * Chinese Babax, Garrulax lanceolatus
 * Plain Laughingthrush, Garrulax davidi
 * Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Garrulax pectoralis
 * White-throated Laughingthrush, Garrulax albogularis
 * Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficeps
 * Grey-sided Laughingthrush, Garrulax caerulatus
 * Buffy Laughingthrush, Garrulax berthemyi
 * Rusty Laughingthrush, Garrulax poecilorhynchus
 * Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, Garrulax mitratus
 * Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush, Garrulax treacheri
 * Black-throated Laughingthrush, Garrulax chinensis
 * Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush, Garrulax nuchalis
 * Blue-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax courtoisi
 * Yellow-throated Laughingthrush, Garrulax galbanus
 * Rufous-vented Laughingthrush, Garrulax gularis
 * Wynaad Laughingthrush, Garrulax delesserti
 * White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Garrulax vassali
 * Rufous-necked Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficollis
 * White-browed Laughingthrush, Garrulax sannio
 * Masked Laughingthrush, Garrulax perspicillatus
 * Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Garrulax rufifrons
 * Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, Garrulax cinereifrons

Genus Trochalopteron
(21 species)
 * Scaly Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron subunicolor
 * Brown-capped Laughingthrush,Trochalopteron austeni
 * Blue-winged Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron squamatum
 * Kerala Laughingthrush or Grey-breasted Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron fairbanki
 * Black-chinned Laughingthrush, Strophocincla cachinnans
 * Bhutan Laughingthrush, Strophocincla imbricata
 * Streaked Laughingthrush, Strophocincla lineata
 * Striped Laughingthrush, Strophocincla virgata
 * Variegated Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron variegatum
 * Black-faced Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron affine
 * White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron morrisonianum
 * Brown-cheeked Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron henrici
 * Elliot's Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron elliotii
 * Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron milnei
 * Red-winged Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron formosum
 * Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron erythrocephalum
 * Assam Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron chrysopterum
 * Silver-eared Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron melanostigma
 * Golden-winged Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron ngoclinhense
 * Collared Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron yersini
 * Malayan Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron peninsulae

Genus Laniellus
(2 species)

Genus Heterophasia
(7 species)

Genus Leiothrix
(2 species)

Genus Minla
(2 species)

Genus Liocichla
(5 species)

Genus Actinodura
(9 species)