''Garrulax'' is a

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 ...

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

birds in the laughingthrush family

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 fam ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Garrulax'' was erected by the French naturalist

René Lesson René-Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. Biography Lesson was born at Rochefort, and entered the Naval Medical School in Rochefort at the age of sixteen. He ...

in 1831. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

was designated in 1961 as the

rufous-fronted laughingthrush The rufous-fronted laughingthrush (''Garrulax rufifrons'') is a bird species in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to Java, where it occurs in evergreen tropical montane forests at . It feeds on insects and fruit. Description It is in le ...

(''Garrulax rufifrons''). The genus previously included more species. 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, ''Garrulax '' was split up and species were moved to the resurrected genera ''

Ianthocincla ''Ianthocincla'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Ianthocincla'' was erected by English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1835 with the spotted laughingthrush as the type species. The nam ...

'' and ''

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. ...

''. ''Garrulax'' species are heavily traded as songbirds. A survey of eight bird markets in Indonesia, carried out in 2014–2015, found 615 laughingthrushes of nine species openly for sale. Much of the trade in these species in Indonesia is illegal and is pushing a number of these species towards extinction. The Sumatran Laughingthrush, for example, is in serious decline due to ongoing and uncontrolled illegal trade in bird markets on the islands of Java and Sumatra, and is increasingly found in international trade, though in lower numbers.

Species

The genus contains the following 14 species:

References

* Collar, N. J. & Robson C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 – 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...

'', Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. {{Taxonbar, from=Q644294 Bird genera Leiothrichidae Taxa named by René Lesson