The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus treacheri'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of bird in the laughingthrush

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Leiothrichidae The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire fami ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. Described by the British

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Richard Bowdler Sharpe Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English zoologist and ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his career he published several mono ...

as a distinct species in 1879, it was subsequently considered a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

chestnut-capped laughingthrush The chestnut-capped laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus mitratus''), also known as the spectacled laughingthrush, is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Sumatra (Indonesia) and the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Its natural habitat ...

until 2007, when it was again raised to species status by the ornithologists Nigel Collar and Craig Robson. It is long, with a chestnut brown head and chin, with grey feathering on the top of the head. The and the side of the neck are slaty-grey, with a long white wing patch. The throat, breast, and upper belly are dull yellowish-brown, with purer grey and a reddish-brown , lower belly, and thighs. It has a yellow half

eye-ring The eye-ring of a bird is a ring of tiny feathers that surrounds the orbital ring, a ring of bare skin immediately surrounding a bird's eye. The eye-ring is often decorative, and its colour may contrast with adjoining plumage. The ring of feather ...

behind and below the eye, while the tail has a blackish tip. Both sexes look similar, while juveniles are duller than adults. The species inhabits

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and hill forest,

forest edge A woodland edge or forest edge is the transition zone (ecotone) from an area of woodland or forest to fields or other open spaces. Certain species of plants and animals are adapted to the forest edge, and these species are often more familiar to hu ...

, disturbed vegetation, and cultivated areas in mountains in the north-central and southeastern parts of Borneo. It is mainly found at elevations of , but can be found down to and as high as . It is

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

, feeding on

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s, fruit, and flowers. Breeding occurs from February to April and in October, with the species building

cup nest A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American robin or Eurasian bl ...

s and laying

clutches A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

of two bright blue to greenish-blue eggs. It is classified as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

due to its very large range, fairly large population, and a lack of significant population decline, but its numbers are thought to be decreasing and it is threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush was originally described in 1879 as ''Ianthocincla treacheri'' by the British

on the basis of specimens from

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( ms, Gunung Kinabalu, Dusun language, Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran or Nulu Nabalu'') is the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia. With an elevation of , it is List of islands by highest point, third-highest peak of an island on Eart ...

. Sharpe later moved it to the genus ''Rhinocichla'' in 1883. It was subsequently considered a subspecies of the

and moved into the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Garrulax ''Garrulax'' is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Garrulax'' was erected by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1831. The type species was designated in 1961 as the rufous-fronted lau ...

'' as part of that species. In 2007, the ornithologists Nigel Collar and Craig Robson restored the chestnut-hooded laughingthrush to full species status. Following the publication of a comprehensive

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus ''

Pterorhinus ''Pterorhinus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. Taxonomy The genus was erected by the English zoologist Robert Swinhoe in 1868 with the plain laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus davidi'') as the type species. ...

''. The name of the genus, ''Pterorhinus'', is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

words ''pteron'' (feather) and ''rhinos'' (

nostril A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbi ...

). The specific name ''treacheri'' refers to

William Hood Treacher Sir William Hood Treacher (1 December 1849 – 3 May 1919) was a British colonial administrator in Borneo and the Straits Settlements. He founded the Anglo Chinese School in Klang on 10 March 1893. Family Treacher was the fourth son of Rev. ...

, a British

colonial administrator Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

who was the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the British colony of

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

. "Chestnut-hooded laughingthrush" is the official

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

designated by the

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

(IOU). The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is one of 133 species recognised by the IOU in the laughingthrush

, a diverse group of birds found across Africa,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, and China. Within the family, it is one of 23 species currently classified in the genus ''Pterorhinus''. A 2019

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

by Tianlong Cai and colleagues found the chestnut-hooded laughingthrush to be most closely related to the chestnut-capped laughingthrush. These two species were

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

(most closely related) to a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

(group of organisms descending from a common ancestor) formed by the rufous-necked, chestnut-backed, and

black-throated laughingthrush The black-throated laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus chinensis'') is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It occurs as an introduced species in Hong Kong. Based on a co ...

es.

Subspecies

There are currently three recognised subspecies of the chestnut-hooded laughingthrush. The subspecies that inhabits western and southeastern Borneo is unknown. * ''P. t. treacheri'' ( Sharpe, 1879): The

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, it is found in northern Borneo. * ''P. t. damnatus'' ( Harrisson & Hartley, 1934): It is found in north-central Borneo. * ''P. t. griswoldi'' ( Peters, JL, 1940): It is found in central Borneo.

Description

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is long, with both sexes having similar appearances. In the nominate subspecies, the chin, lores (area between the eyes and nostrils), (line above the eye), feathers around the nostrils, and the area around the base of the bill are chestnut brown. The forehead, front of the (top of the head), and the area from the eyes down to the chin are darker, with some greyish-white feathering on the crown. The throat, breast, and upper belly are dull yellowish-brown with a greyish tinge and dull yellowish-brown streaking. The are purer grey, while the lower belly, thighs, and are reddish-brown. The side of the neck and the are slaty-grey with a slight yellowish-brown tinge, with a long white patch on the . The tail is darker grey and has a blackish tip. The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

is red to reddish-brown, with a yellow half

behind and below the eye. The bill is dull orange to yellowish-brown, while the legs are yellowish. Juveniles are duller than adults. ''P. t. damnatus'' has a duller breast with less streaking, while ''P. t. griswoldi'' has more intense chestnut on the vent. The species differs from the chestnut-capped laughingthrush by the feathering on the nostrils, its yellow (instead of white) eye-ring that is only present behind and below the eye, chestnut brown chin, greyer upperparts, paler , and greyer feathers on the crown.

Vocalisations

The song of the chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is a fluty, high-pitched ''chu-wu, chwi-wi-wi-wi-wiee-wiu-wu'' with rather clicky starting notes or a rising and falling ''wiu-wu-wu-wi-wi-wee-wu''. It also makes an even-pitched series of up to 12 ''wi'' notes, a ''wu-tuwu-tuwu'', or a ''ri’-ri’-ri'', all of which are punctuated with a ''to-we-oh to-we-oh''. Its call is a harsh, hoarse churr, while the

contact call Contact calls are seemingly haphazard sounds made by many social animals (such as a chicken's cluck). Contact calls are unlike other calls (such as alarm calls) in that they are not usually widely used, conspicuous calls, but rather short exclamatio ...

is a soft, descending ''ah-ah-ah-ah'', with the latter notes also given singly.

Distribution and habitat

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is

to Borneo, where it is found in the north-central mountain ranges from Mount Kinabalu to Barito Ulu, along with the

Meratus Mountains The Meratus Mountains is a mountain range in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan; it is located on Borneo island. The mountains run in a north-south arc that divides South Kalimantan province into two almost equal parts. Its highest peak ...

in the southeast of the island. It inhabits evergreen

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and hill forest,

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

, disturbed vegetation, and cultivated areas such as short growth in old rice fields. It is usually found at elevations of , but may sometimes be seen as low as and as high as .

Behaviour and ecology

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush forages in small groups of 4–5 birds, frequently joining

mixed-species foraging flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

s that can include the

Sunda cuckooshrike The Sunda cuckooshrike (''Coracina larvata'') is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it occurs on Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane fore ...

Sunda laughingthrush The Sunda laughingthrush (''Garrulax palliatus'') is a bird species in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical ...

Whitehead's broadbill Whitehead's broadbill (''Calyptomena whiteheadi'') is a species of bird in the family Calyptomenidae. It is endemic to mountain ranges of north-central Borneo, where it mainly inhabits montane forests and forest edges at elevations of . It is l ...

, and

Whitehead's trogon Whitehead's trogon (''Harpactes whiteheadi'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to the island of Borneo, where it is an uncommon in primary mountain forest. One of Borneo's largest trogons at long, it is sexually dimo ...

. These flocks can include ''Tupaia''

treeshrew The treeshrews (or tree shrews or banxrings) are small mammals native to the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia. They make up the entire order Scandentia, which split into two families: the Tupaiidae (19 species, "ordinary" treeshrews) ...

s and '' Dremomys'' squirrels on the ground and ''

Sundasciurus ''Sundasciurus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It contains 20 species: *Genus ''Sundasciurus'' ** Sumatran mountain squirrel (''Sundasciurus altitudinis'') ** Brooke's squirrel (''Sundasciurus brookei'') ** Bornean mountain grou ...

'' squirrels in the canopy.

Feeding

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is

. It feeds on arthropods such as grasshoppers, ants,

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...

earwig Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forcep-like pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded ...

s, moths, caterpillars,

leafhopper A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and a ...

s, bug

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

, flies, small black beetles, and small

millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...

s. It also eats the fruit of ''

Glochidion ''Glochidion'' is a genus of flowering plants, of the family Phyllanthaceae, known as cheese trees or buttonwood in Australia, and leafflower trees in the scientific literature. It comprises about 300 species, distributed from Madagascar to the P ...

'', ''

Macaranga ''Macaranga'' is a large genus of Old World tropical trees of the family Euphorbiaceae and the only genus in the subtribe Macaranginae (tribe Acalypheae). Native to Africa, Australasia, Asia and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ...

'', ''

Trema cannabina ''Trema cannabina'' is a tree found in Southeast Asia and Oceania. They are perennial. It is found in sandy, well drained soil. It also goes by the names of lesser ''Trema'' and poison peach, and in the Samoan language. The plant may release an ...

'', ''

Embelia ribes ''Embelia ribes'', commonly known as false black pepper, white-flowered embelia, ''vidanga'', ''vaividang'', ''vai vidang'', or ''vavding'', is a species in the family Primulaceae. It was originally described by Nicolaas Laurens Burman in his 176 ...

'', ''

Sambucus ''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...

'', and melastomes like ''

Medinilla ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

,'' along with the flowers of the invasive ''

Passiflora edulis ''Passiflora edulis,'' commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy ...

'' and both the fruits and flowers of ''

Rhodamnia ''Rhodamnia'' is a group of rainforest trees and shrubs in the myrtle family described as a genus in 1822.Govaerts, R., Sobral, N., Ashton, P., Barrie, F., Holst, B.K., Landrum, L.L., Matsumoto, K., Fernanda Mazine, F., Nic Lughadha, E., Proenç ...

''. The species forages by hopping up slanting branches in a

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

-like manner without using its tail for support and taking insects from the surface. It sometimes clings to vertical surfaces like the trunks of

tree fern The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ...

s. It will also forage on

forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stage ...

s and lawns like a ''

Turdus True thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus ''Turdus'' of the wider thrush family, Turdidae. The genus name ''Turdus'' is Latin for "thrush". The term " thrush" is used for many other birds of the family T ...

'' thrush, holding its tail up. It has been recorded feeding on flying ants that are unable to fly and insects hit by vehicles. Foraging is mainly conducted within a few metres of the ground, but the species also sometimes feeds in the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

Breeding

Breeding in the species has been observed from February to April and in October. The cup-shaped nest is a loose collection made of grass stems, tendrils, dead leaves, and roots, with an outer layer of leaf skeletons,

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

leaves, and feathers and no inner lining. It is placed at a height of around in a mass of creepers or ferns suspended from a small tree.

Clutches A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

have two glossy, bright blue to greenish-blue eggs.

Status

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is classified as being of

by the

due to its very large range, fairly large population, and a lack of significant population decline. It is common in the montane regions of Borneo and occurs in several

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, such as

Kayan Mentarang National Park Kayan Mentarang National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Kayan Mentarang) is a densely forested national park located in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The national park is named after a great dispersed Mentara ...

and

Kinabalu Park Kinabalu Park ( ms, Taman Kinabalu), established as one of the first national parks of Malaysia in 1964, is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO in December 2000 for its "outstanding universal values" and the role as one of ...

. However, its population is currently thought to be declining due to

and

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7038481

chestnut-hooded laughingthrush The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush (''Pterorhinus treacheri'') is a species of bird in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae endemic to Borneo. Described by the British ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe as a distinct species in 1879, i ...

Endemic birds of Borneo

Taxa named by Richard Bowdler Sharpe