Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor Scientific name definitions

24–28 cm. Head to breast , including upper lores, is white  , with glossy black on forehead and over nares and joining, via lower lores  , with black “goggles” and lower ear-coverts; entire rest of plumage sooty brown-black ; iris reddish; bill  black; legs black, greenish-black or slaty black. Differs from similar G. leucolophus (of nominate race) in smaller size, proportionately shorter tail, blackish colour of upperparts and lower underparts, differently shaped black mask with high black forehead, white of crown projecting down in front of eye, and black on ear-coverts much narrower. Sexes similar. Juvenile is like adult, but with much white admixed on black underparts.

Mountains of Sumatra.

ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia EBA. Studies of bird markets and surveys in the wild confirm that population is in serious decline, partly as a result of habitat loss, but principally due to illegal trade (1 Eaton, J. A., C. R. Shepherd, F. E. Rheindt, J. B. C. Harris, S. (B.) van Balen, D. S. Wilcove, and N. J. Collar (2015). Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia. Forktail 31:1–12. Close ). For this reason it was uplisted to Endangered in 2016 BirdLife International (2017) Species factsheet: Garrulax bicolor. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 05/05/2017. . Avidly persecuted by bird-traders (2 Shepherd, C.R. (2007). Trade in the Black-and-white Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor and White-crested Laughingthrush G. leucolophus in Indonesia. BirdingASIA. 8: 49–52. Close ); easily removed from an area by means of trapping with the use of decoys. The species has apparently been wiped out from all readily accessible areas (3 Brickle, N. (2009). Seeking the elusive Black-and-white Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor in the Alas Valley. BirdingASIA. 11: 15. Close ). On Mt Kerinci the species has all but disappeared since 1985, and around the year 2000 the species could be found only at Sipurak, two days’ hard walk from nearest road; by 2015 trappers claimed that it only remained in forests three days walk from a road (1 Eaton, J. A., C. R. Shepherd, F. E. Rheindt, J. B. C. Harris, S. (B.) van Balen, D. S. Wilcove, and N. J. Collar (2015). Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia. Forktail 31:1–12. Close ). Evidence that it may be in very serious trouble is that price of a bird has increased from $8–15 in 2007 (2 Shepherd, C.R. (2007). Trade in the Black-and-white Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor and White-crested Laughingthrush G. leucolophus in Indonesia. BirdingASIA. 8: 49–52. Close ) to over $90 in 2014 (4 Chng, S. C. L., J. A. Eaton, K. Krishnasamy, C. R. Shepherd, and V. Nijman (2015). In the Market for Extinction: An Inventory of Jakarta’s Bird Markets. TRAFFIC, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Close ). Furthermore many individuals supposedly of this species now on sale in markets in Sumatra are, in fact, of the continental G. leucolophus, rather than of this endemic species (5 Shepherd, C.R. (2011). Observations on trade in laughingthrushes (Garrulax spp.) in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Bird Conservation International. 21: 86–91. Close ). Even so, up to 3000 birds were counted in weekly surveys of markets in Medan, N Sumatra province, between Jul and Sep 2012, while only a single wild bird was detected on > 45 km of transects the following year (1 Eaton, J. A., C. R. Shepherd, F. E. Rheindt, J. B. C. Harris, S. (B.) van Balen, D. S. Wilcove, and N. J. Collar (2015). Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia. Forktail 31:1–12. Close ). The inferred very rapid population decline triggered uplisting from Vulnerable to Endangered in 2016. Indonesian legislation and regulations to protect the species from over-exploitation are not enforced (5 Shepherd, C.R. (2011). Observations on trade in laughingthrushes (Garrulax spp.) in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Bird Conservation International. 21: 86–91. Close ). Present in Gunung Leuser and Kerinici Seblat National Parks. A captive-breeding programme has been established (1 Eaton, J. A., C. R. Shepherd, F. E. Rheindt, J. B. C. Harris, S. (B.) van Balen, D. S. Wilcove, and N. J. Collar (2015). Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia. Forktail 31:1–12. Close ).