The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

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 ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in

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 the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. The entire family used to be included in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae.

Characteristics

They are small to medium-sized birds. They have strong legs, and many are quite terrestrial. They typically have generalised bills, similar to those of a

thrush ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

. Most have predominantly brown plumage, with minimal difference between the sexes, but many more brightly coloured species also exist. This group is not strongly migratory, and most

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 ...

have short rounded wings, and a weak flight. They live in lightly wooded or scrubland environments, ranging from swamp to near-desert. They are primarily

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

, although many will also take berries, and the larger species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates.

Taxonomy

The family Leiothrichidae was introduced (as a subfamily Leiotrichanae) by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1832. 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 of the family published in 2018 led to substantial revision of the taxonomic classification. The laughingthrushes in the genus ''

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 ...

'' were found to belong to three separate clades that had diverged in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

7-9 million year ago. The genus was therefore split with ''Garrulax'' restricted to one clade and the genera ''

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. ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' resurrected for the other two clades. The genus '' Turdoides'' was also split and species moved into the resurrected genus '' Argya''. In a separate change, the crocias were moved to the genus ''Laniellus'' Swainson, 1832 which has priority over ''Crocias''

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temminck ...

, 1836. The cladogram below is based on a study of the babblers by Tianlong Cai and collaborators published in 2019. The cladogram below shows the phylogenetic relationships between the genera in the family Leiothrichidae based on a study by Alice Cibois and collaborators published in 2018.

List of genera

The family contains 133 species in 16 genera: * ''

Grammatoptila The striated laughingthrush (''Grammatoptila striatus'') is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It was at one time placed in the genus ''Garrulax'' but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, ...

'' – striated laughingthrush * ''

Cutia :''The agoutis of the genus '' Dasyprocta'' are locally known as "cutias". See also Hutia, where the name for these rodents originated.'' The cutias are the passerine bird genus ''Cutia'' in the family Leiothrichidae. These birds are found in mon ...

'' – cutias (2 species) * ''

Laniellus ''Laniellus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. Taxonomy These species were both formerly placed in the genus ''Crocias'' but under the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ''Laniellus'' Swainson ...

'' – crocias (2 species) * ''

Trochalopteron ''Trochalopteron'' is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Trochalopteron'' was introduced in 1843 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth. The name combines the Ancient Greek ''trokhalos'' ...

'' – laughingthrushes (19 species) * ''

Actinodura The barwings are the genus ''Actinodura'' of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. They are found in the hills of Southern Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a cont ...

'' – barwings and minlas (9 species) * ''

Montecincla ''Montecincla'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. All four species in this genus are endemic to “sky islands” in the Western Ghats mountain range of southwestern India, generally above 1,200m elevation. Species The ...

'' – laughingthrushes (4 species) * ''

Minla The red-tailed minla (''Minla ignotincta'') is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Minla''. It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Its range includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ind ...

'' –

red-tailed minla The red-tailed minla (''Minla ignotincta'') is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Minla''. It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Its range includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ind ...

* '' Leioptila'' – rufous-backed sibia * '' Leiothrix'' – (2 species) * ''

Liocichla The liocichlas are a group of birds in the genus of the same name, ''Liocichla'', from the family Leiothrichidae. They are found in Asia from India to China. They belong to a clade also containing at least the '' Leiothrix'', the barwings, the ...

'' - liocichlas (5 species) * ''

Heterophasia ''Heterophasia'', the sibias, is a bird genus in the family Leiothrichidae. Species By some, the genus is considered monotypic, including only ''H. picaoides''. However, seven species are commonly recognised: * Rufous sibia, ''Heterophasia capi ...

'' - sibias (7 species) * '' Argya'' – mainly babblers (16 species) – previous placed in ''Turdoides'' * '' Turdoides'' – babblers (19 species) * ''

'' – laughingthrushes (14 species) * ''

'' – laughingthrushes (8 species) – previously placed in ''Garrulax'' * ''

'' – laughingthrushes and babaxes (23 species) – previously placed in ''Garrulax''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1951184 Bird families Sylvioidea