White-crested Laughingthrush

White-crested Laughingthrush

                Introduction of White-crested Laughingthrush

       The White-crested laughingthrush (Scientific Name : Garrulax leucolophus) belongs to the family Leiothrichidae. Its scientific name Garrulax leucolophus derived from Latin "garrire" which means"to chatter", as it is  very vocal in nature, and " leukós " in Greek means "white" and "lophos" which means "crest".

                How to identify White-crested Laughingthrush

        White-crested Laughingthrush is a stocky build bird. It has strong blackish legs and bill  Tail is round in shape and the body has lot of  plumage. Its body length averages 30 cm, and length of its tail ranges from 13 to 15 cm.
          As the name suggests, it has a characteristic white hood and raised crest. It is  easily identified due to its broad and elongated black eye-mask. The mantle, back and underparts from the lower breast down are rufescent.  Head, throat and upper chest is white and fading into darker olive-brown on the tail and upper wings. The nape is light gray.
          Females look almost same to males  but it's crest is smaller than male , duller mantle, and slightly more pronounced gray on the nape. Youngs can be identified by their shorter crest and tail, paler mask, brownish nape and brighter mantle.
         It has four Subspecies which have some variations in plumage color.  Mantle of Patkaicus is  darker, richer chestnut; Belangeri has white extending lower onto the belly and  underparts are paler; Diardi even more so and with a brighter upper mantle

                  Habits and Habitats

      White-crested Laughingthrush is commonly found in mountain forests up to elevations of 1600m.
The ideal habitat of this species  also includes bamboos, which provide them excellent nesting substrate and help them to camouflage. Though it is commonly found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, China, Vietnam, and Thailand, the four subspecies have slightly different distributions
   Subspecies G. leucolophus are found in North India, Nepal, Bhutan, S China (Tibet)
   Subspecies G. patkaicus  are found in N.E India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, S China (Yunnan)
   Subspecies G.belangeri are found in Myanmar, Thailand
   Subspecies G.diardi are found in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, S China (Yunnan)
            Food
     White-crested Laughingthrush  is an omnivorous bird. It lives mostly on invertebrates such as beetles, spiders, flies, caterpillars, snails and leeches.  It also eats fruits, seeds, nectar, and even small reptiles and amphibians which includes snakes, lizards and frogs.

          Breeding and Nesting

     White-crested Laughingthrush form close bonds during the breeding season which is  between March and August. They build a wide, shallow nest at least six feet off the ground, usually constructed of bamboo leaves. The clutch consists of  three to five eggs. Incubation period is 15 days. White-crested Laughingthrush  generally produce at least two clutches of young each year.  Older offspring, those were hatched earlier in the season also help to feed and defend the youngest members of the family.