Orange-breasted Laughingthrush
Encyclopedia
The Orange-breasted Laughingthrush (Stactocichla annamensis) is a passerine
bird
in the Old World babbler
family, Timaliidae. Until recently it was regarded as a subspecies
of the Spot-breasted Laughingthrush
(S. merulina) but has now been split as a separate species. The two have traditionally been placed in the genus
Garrulax along with the other laughingthrush
es but are now sometimes moved to a separate genus Stactocichla.
It is a medium-sized bird with a strong bill
and legs and a fairly long tail. It is 24-25 cm long with a bill length of 25-27 mm, a wing length of 83-92 mm and a tail length of 88-100 mm. It is mostly plain brown apart from an orange stripe over the eye, a black throat and an orange breast with black streaks. It has a loud, melodious song
. The Spot-breasted Laughingthrush is similar but has a pale throat and breast with dark spots and a pale stripe above the eye.
It is endemic to Vietnam
where it occurs in the Da Lat Plateau
in southern Annam. It inhabits montane
forest between 915 and 1510 m above sea-level and can survive in degraded habitats such as secondary forest
and cultivated land close to forested areas. It is most often seen in pairs. Although it only has a small range, it appears to be tolerant of habitat degradation and is classed as Least Concern
by BirdLife International
.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Old World babbler
Old World babbler
The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...
family, Timaliidae. Until recently it was regarded as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Spot-breasted Laughingthrush
Spot-breasted Laughingthrush
The Spot-breasted Laughingthrush is a species of bird in the Timaliidae family. It is found in south-west China, north-east India, Laos, Myanmar, north-west Thailand, and northern Vietnam...
(S. merulina) but has now been split as a separate species. The two have traditionally been placed in the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Garrulax along with the other laughingthrush
Laughingthrush
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....
es but are now sometimes moved to a separate genus Stactocichla.
It is a medium-sized bird with a strong bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
and legs and a fairly long tail. It is 24-25 cm long with a bill length of 25-27 mm, a wing length of 83-92 mm and a tail length of 88-100 mm. It is mostly plain brown apart from an orange stripe over the eye, a black throat and an orange breast with black streaks. It has a loud, melodious song
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
. The Spot-breasted Laughingthrush is similar but has a pale throat and breast with dark spots and a pale stripe above the eye.
It is endemic to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
where it occurs in the Da Lat Plateau
Da Lat Plateau
The Da Lat Plateau is a plateau in southeastern Vietnam.At its centre is the city of Da Lat.Several mountains in this area rise to over 2000m, the highest being Chu Yang Sin at 2442m....
in southern Annam. It inhabits montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
forest between 915 and 1510 m above sea-level and can survive in degraded habitats such as secondary forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
and cultivated land close to forested areas. It is most often seen in pairs. Although it only has a small range, it appears to be tolerant of habitat degradation and is classed as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
.