Blue-crowned Laughingthrush
A species of Laughing Thrushes Scientific name : Pterorhinus courtoisi Genus : Laughing Thrushes
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush, A species of Laughing Thrushes
Botanical name: Pterorhinus courtoisi
Genus: Laughing Thrushes
Content
Description
Description
The blue-crowned laughingthrush or Courtois's laughingbird (Pterorhinus courtoisi) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is now found only in Jiangxi, China. Until recently, this critically endangered species was generally treated as a subspecies of the yellow-throated laughingthrush, but that species has a pale grey (not bluish) crown. The blue-crowned laughingthrush was formerly placed in the genus Garrulax but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Pterorhinus. The specific name was chosen to honour the French missionary to China Frédéric Courtois (1860-1928). The nominate subspecies was only rediscovered in 2000, in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi, but remains very rare with a total wild population of approximately 200 individuals. The subspecies G. courtoisi simaoensis has not been encountered in the wild since the type specimens were collected in Simao, Yunnan in 1956. More than 100 blue-crowned laughingthrushes are kept in zoos (where part of a captive breeding program) and private aviculture, but it is unclear what subspecies they belong to. A recent review failed to support the distinction of two separate subspecies, leading to simaoensis being treated as a synonym of the nominate in Handbook of the Birds of the World. This bird was erroneously listed as a species of least concern in the 2006 IUCN Red List. Actually, it seems close to extinction at least in the wild, and its status was thus corrected to critically endangered 2007 Red List issue.
Size
25 cm
Life Expectancy
10 years
Feeding Habits
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush consumes a varied diet, primarily invertebrates and seeds. Distinctive foraging methods enable it to exploit different food resources effectively. Noteworthy dietary adaptations facilitate handling varied food types, revealing blue-crowned Laughingthrush's flexible feeding strategy.
Habitat
Forest with rivers
Dite type
Omnivorous
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Laughingthrushes Genus
Laughing Thrushes Species
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush