Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush Garrulax monileger Scientific name definitions

24–31·5 cm; 56–135 g. Large laughingthrush , brown, tan and white, with narrow blackish necklace from ear-coverts across breast, pale eye. Nominate race has crown and upperparts warm mid-brown, with vague rufescent collar on nape and upper mantle; wing fringes and central tail feathers warm mid-brown, outer primaries fringed greyer, outer tail feathers blackish-brown distally with broad white tips; lores buffish to above eye, narrow white supercilium behind eye to above rear ear-coverts, plush area around eye black, ear-coverts blackish distally but mixed with silvery white basally; lower submoustachial area blackish (but upper part buffy white), chin and upper throat buffy white, shading through buff to rufescent tan adjacent to variable-width chocolate-black necklace extending from lower rear ear-coverts across breast; rest of underparts whitish or buffy white, flanks with dull rufous wash, undertail-coverts mixed white and pale warm buff; iris orange-yellow to yellowish-brown; bill black or blackish-grey, often greyer basal half of lower mandible; legs pale fleshy or yellowish-brown to pale lead. Sexes similar. Juvenile has upperparts more rufescent, gorget weaker, mid-belly buffier, outer webs of primaries buffier, white on tail tips reduced. Race badius is deeper-toned and darker-toned above than nominate, nuchal collar and flanks darker rufous; stuarti is paler below, with more whitish on upper flanks, more whitish on ear-coverts reducing black to a broad eyestripe, white in tail variably tinged warm buff; <em>fuscatus</em> is like previous, but coloured more as nominate below , nuchal collar richer and broader; schauenseei resembles last, but nuchal collar very broad, covering entire mantle, tail tips sandy tan; mouhoti is similar to previous but much whiter on upper flanks and belly, nuchal collar somewhat less broad and slightly more chestnut; pasquieri is darker above than others and smaller than all (except schmackeri), washed rufous-chestnut above with dark, indistinct nuchal collar, supercilium surmounted by narrow black line, breast bordering and overlapping necklace rufous-chestnut, so that necklace appears chestnut-maroon, rather than black; tonkinensis is intermediate between preceding two races above, head pattern similar to previous but black band behind and below eye broader, similar to mouhoti below but more warm buff on breast, tips of tail sandy; melli is like mouhoti but with mid-grey patch behind ear-coverts, gorget reduced (sometimes to string of large blotches), tail tips paler and buffier; schmackeri is small (size as pasquieri), with coloration as previous but with narrower nuchal collar, only light buff upper border of necklace, and rufous-tan of flanks much reduced.

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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 and deciduous forest, secondary forest, scrub, hedgerows in more open areas; sea-level to 1675 m, rarely to 1800 m (Bhutan).

Resident.

Insects and their larvae, including millers, ants, snails and small lizards; also berries, small fruits, seeds and green vegetable matter. Highly gregarious, keeping in monospecific flocks of up to five individuals in breeding season, 10–20 or more outside breeding season, often in company with other laughingthrushes, including G. leucolophus, G. pectoralis and G. chinensis, where ranges overlap; also associates with, and sometimes kleptoparasitized by, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus). Forages mostly on ground , hacking earth and tossing aside leaves, but moves through forest up to middle storey.

Not very vocal. Possible song types are a mellow , repeated “u-wi-uu” and more subdued, quickly repeated “ui-ee-ee-wu”, “wiu-wiu-wiu” and “ui-ui-ui” phrases; presumed songs have been described also as tuneful sequences of very short, mellow whistles, “tu’tu’tu’tu-tuwa, tu’tu’tu’tu-tuwa…”, and mellow, sweet, gently downslurred, whistled “tieew, ti-tiew” and so on. Foraging flocks make variety of low sounds, these becoming harsh and continuous when alarmed, when thin whining sounds also uttered; occasional downturned, thin, whining, sigh, e.g. “nnyáóu”, and subdued, nervous, sweet, staccato, irregular peeping.

Mar–Aug; multi-brooded. Nest a broad, often shallow cup (very like that of G. pectoralis), made of dry bamboo or other leaves, twigs, roots, creeper stems and tendrils, lined, sometimes thickly, with rootlets, black grass roots, leaf skeletons and fine twigs, placed 1–4·5 m above ground in bamboo or low tree. Clutch 3–5 eggs (usually 3–4 in Myanmar), pale, clear, slightly greenish-blue. No information available on incubation and nestling periods. Brood parasitism by Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus) and Jacobin Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) reportedly common.

Not globally threatened. Local and uncommon in C Nepal, becoming more frequent farther E. Frequently recorded in foothills, and higher in C & E valleys, in Bhutan, and present in Thrumshingla National Park. Frequent in India below 1000 m, and common in Nameri National Park (Assam); present elsewhere in NE India in (at least) Buxa Tiger Reserve, in West Bengal, Namdapha and Mouling National Parks, in Arunachal Pradesh, Balphakram National Park, in Meghalaya, Barail Reserve Forest and Kaziranga National Park (common in latter), in Assam, and Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary, in Mizoram. In China, moderately common in higher wooded parts of Guangdong and Fujian, and recently recorded in Shiwandashan National Nature Reserve, in Guangxi, but not common there. Generally common in SE Asian range. Present in Khao Yai National Park, in Thailand. Widespread, if uncommon, in Cambodia, at least before 1970. Present but generally uncommon in Xe Pian National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA), Phou Xang He NBCA and Dong Hua Sao NBCA, in Laos, and present (abundance uncertain) in Xe Bang Nouan NBCA and Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA. In Vietnam, present in Cuc Phuong, Bach Ma and Nam Bai Cat Tien National Parks and Na Hang Nature Reserve, and in eleven protected areas in the Annamese lowlands.