Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush Pterorhinus mitratus Scientific name definitions

22–24 cm. Medium-sized dull grey laughingthrush with yellow bill and legs, white eyering, chestnut on head and vent and bold white wing flash. Nominate race has lores, narial feathering, supercilium and crown chestnut, pointed feathers of forecrown whitish-grey, variable extent of blackish on forepart of face; ear-coverts , neck side, nape and upperparts slightly ochraceous mid-grey, upperwing and tail slightly darker, long white wingpanel on outer primaries, tail with blackish tip; area under white eyering, upper submoustachial area and chin blackish, throat to upper belly mid-grey with ochre tinge (slightly stronger tinge than on upperparts), flanks darker, lower belly, thighs and vent rufous-chestnut; iris usually red, often red-brown or chestnut, sometimes brown or dark brown, orbital skin white, often with slight grey-blue tinge; bill deep yellow to orange; legs pale yellow to dark orange. Sexes similar. Juvenile is duller and browner than adult, with reduced white streaking on forehead. Race major is larger, larger-billed and more strongly ochraceous, notably below , than nominate.

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Until recently treated as conspecific with P. treacheri. Two subspecies recognized.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Broadleaf evergreen forest, forest edge, disturbed and secondary forests and adjoining cultivation, low growth in old rice fields, generally at 900–3200 m; locally down to 500 m in Sumatra.

Resident.

Insects, including cassidid and tenebrionid beetles, cockroaches (Blattodea), grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera), earwigs (Dermaptera), ants (Formicidae) and caterpillars; also small snails; in addition, fruit, berries and seeds, including chilli (Capsicum). Found in pairs or in parties of 4–5 individuals, or in larger flocks, sometimes in association with other species, including other laughingthrushes (and other babblers), in bird waves. Forages in lower and middle storeys, actively working through creepers and thicker foliage, sometimes ascending into taller trees.

Song fairly subdued but clear and quite shrill, phrases consisting of 3–5 notes, “wi, wu-wi-wu-wi” and “wi, wu-wi” with stressed first note, “wi-wu-wiu-wu-wi” with stressed middle note, and “wiu-wu-wui-wi” with rather sharp last note. Calls include sibilant “ju-ju-ju-ju-ju” and “wi-jujujujujuju”, rapid harsh squirrel-like cackling “wikakakaka”, and other low, harsh sounds.

Mar–May in Peninsular Malaysia and Feb–Mar in Sumatra. Nest in one instance a shallow but solid cup of roots and fibres, placed c. 5 m up in tangle of fern fronds hanging from small tree. Clutch 2 eggs, white to deep greenish-blue. No information on incubation and nestling periods. Brood parasitism by Dark Hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx bocki) occurs in Peninsular Malaysia.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Formerly common in Peninsular Malaysia, where present in Cameron Highlands, Bukit Fraser and Taman Negara National Park. Present in Gunung Leuser National Park, in Sumatra, and likewise once common on Mt Kerinci. No global population estimates, but increasingly uncommon (1 Eaton, J. A., B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt (2016). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) due to trapping for the cagebird trade. It was the most commonly-traded Indonesian laughingthrush in the Pramuka bird market (Jakarta), with 80–100 individuals observed in 2015 (2 Shepherd, C.R., Eaton, J.A. and Chng, S.C.L. (2016). Nothing to laugh about–the ongoing illegal trade in laughingthrushes (Garrulax species) in the bird markets of Java, Indonesia. Bird Conservation International. 26(4): 524–530. Close ), 2016 and 2017 BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Garrulax mitratus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 15/01/2018. . This species is particularly sensitive to trapping (3 Harris, J.B.C., Tingley, M.W., Hua, F., Yong, D.L., Adeney, J.M., Lee, T.M., Marthy, W., Prawiradilaga, D.M., Sekercioglu, C.H., Winarni, N. and Wilcove, D.S. (2017). Measuring the impact of the pet trade on Indonesian birds. Conservation Biology. 31(2) :394-405. Close ). Field surveys in N Sumatra failed to find the species where trappers indicate that it previously occurred (3 Harris, J.B.C., Tingley, M.W., Hua, F., Yong, D.L., Adeney, J.M., Lee, T.M., Marthy, W., Prawiradilaga, D.M., Sekercioglu, C.H., Winarni, N. and Wilcove, D.S. (2017). Measuring the impact of the pet trade on Indonesian birds. Conservation Biology. 31(2) :394-405. Close ), and expert opinion is that populations are declining severely (4 Harris, J. B. C., J. M. H. Green, D. M. Prawiradilaga, X. Giam, Giyanto, D. Hikmatullah, C. A. Putra, and D. S. Wilcove (2015). Using market data and expert opinion to identify overexploited species in the wild bird trade. Biological Conservation 187(1):51–60. Close ). Trends of populations in Thailand and Malaysia are less well known. Not previously considered to be of conservation concern, the impact of the cagebird trade on global populations triggered listing as Near Threatened in 2017.