Ashy-headed Laughingthrush

About the Ashy-headed Laughingthrush

The ashy-headed laughingthrush (Argya cinereifrons) is a member of the family Leiothrichidae. The laughingthrushes are a large family of Old World passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in southeast Asia.

The ashy-headed laughingthrush was formerly placed in the genus Garrulax, but following the publication of an extensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Argya. The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a rangy bird, 23 centimetres (9 in) in length with a long floppy tail. It is rufous brown above and deep buff below, with a grey head and white throat. Like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and the characteristic laughing calls are often the best indication that they are present, since they are usually difficult to see in their preferred habitat.

The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a resident breeding bird endemic to Sri Lanka. Its habitat is rainforest, and it is rarely seen away from deep jungle or dense bamboo thickets in the wet zone. This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded... Wikipedia →