Chinese Hwamei
Garrulax canorus
Silhouette: Jiekun He · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyLeiothrichidae (Laughingthrushes and Allies)
- GenusGarrulax (Typical Laughingthrushes)
- SpeciesGarrulax canorus (Chinese Hwamei)
About the Chinese Hwamei
The Chinese hwamei or melodious laughingthrush (Garrulax canorus) is a passerine bird of eastern Asia in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. The name "hwamei" comes from its Chinese name huà méi, which means "painted eyebrow", referring to the distinctive marking around the bird's eyes. The species is a popular cagebird because of its attractive song.
The Chinese hwamei was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the thrushes in the genus Turdus and coined the binomial name Turdus canorus. Linnaeus specified the type locality as Bengal and China but this has been restricted to Amoy (now Xiamen) in Fujian, China. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "melodious" (from canere "to sing"). The Chinese hwamei is now one of 14 laughingthrushes placed in the genus Garrulax that was introduced in 1831 by René Lesson.
Two subspecies are recognised: G. c. canorus, native to mainland Asia, and G. c. owstoni of Hainan Island. The Taiwan hwamei (G. taewanum) was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Chinese hwamei but has recently been split as a separate species. This was based... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Chinese Hwamei in Nikko National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Nikko National Park
Red-billed Leiothrix
Leiothrix lutea
Cinereous Tit
Parus cinereus
Large-billed Crow
Corvus macrorhynchos
Japanese Bush Warbler
Horornis diphone
Coal Tit
Periparus ater
Long-tailed Tit
Aegithalos caudatus
Willow Tit
Poecile montanus
Brown-eared Bulbul
Hypsipetes amaurotis
Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandarius
Eurasian Nuthatch
Sitta europaea
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
Grey Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Chinese Hwamei in Nikko National Park?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Hwamei sighting in Nikko National Park, based on 88 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Chinese Hwamei in Nikko National Park?
August has the highest sighting rate for Chinese Hwamei in Nikko National Park in our monthly data.