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