Nilgiri Laughingthrush Montecincla cachinnans Scientific name definitions

This merry, laughing joker (1 Betham, R.M. (1902). Birds’ nesting at Ootacamund. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 14(3): 620–624. Close ) was once the most abundant bird species of the Nilgiri plateau and its summits. Its loud, laugh-like songs would invariably catch the ear of visitors from the plains, even above the din of the Mettupalayam bus panting laboriously uphill (2 Ali, S. (1949). Indian Hill Birds. Oxford University Press, Bombay, India. Close ). Now known as Nilgiri Laughingthrush or Nilgiri Chilappan, it is one of four Montecincla laughingthrushes, a genus endemic to the Western Ghats mountains.

It is restricted to sky islands (sholas) of stunted, subtropical montane forest that are interspersed among grassland and rocky outcrops above 1,600 meters elevation. Arguably, the Nilgiri Laughingthrush is the best studied endemic in the Western Ghats due its abundance around Ooty [= Udagamandalam]— the summer capital of the former Madras Presidency and now a popular, accessible mountain area. Although shy and retiring, the Nilgiri Laughingthrush occurs even within the town limits of Ooty, Coonoor, and Kotagiri, in gardens and orchards and near bungalows or resorts, as well as in the sholas nearby. This accessibility has enabled bird watchers and scientists to study this species with ease. Unlike the Wayanad Laughingthrush (Ianthocincla delesserti), which occurs in flocks, Montecincla laughingthrushes are generally found in pairs, searching for food either in dry leaf litter on the ground, or amongst the stems and branches of trees. At locations like Doddabetta Peak, the Nilgiri Laughingthrush has become habituated to humans, and can be seen foraging for food items near high-traffic areas .

Some of the harsh conversational notes of the Nilgiri Laughingthrush are almost identical to the ke-ke-ke-ke of the Rufous Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda), although it also has a rich variety of pleasant, nasal, fluty songs. Its breeding biology and territoriality are fairly well-studied and challenges to its conservation have been highlighted. Presently, the Nilgiri Laughingthrush has a very small and severely fragmented range, which is declining rapidly owing to the conversion of forest habitats to plantations, agriculture, and settlements. Although generally common to abundant across its range in the early 1900s, it is presently classified as Endangered by the IUCN. Recent observations indicate it to be locally common, but uncommon or rare on a broader scale. If we were to lose the reverberating chatters of this species, the Nilgiris would lose a piece of their soul, and efforts should be made to restore the Nilgiri Laughingthrush to its former glory.