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 th ...

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 th ...

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 lightweig ...

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 physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

. 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 Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

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 ...

'' 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 recent" ...

7-9 million year ago. The genus was therefore split with ''Garrulax'' restricted to one clade and the genera '' Pterorhinus'' and '' Ianthocincla'' 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, 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'' – striated laughingthrush * '' Cutia'' – 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, from Eastern India to China and Taiwan. Species The genus contains nine species: References * Colla ...

'' – barwings and minlas (9 species) * '' Montecincla'' – 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 The rufous-backed sibia (''Leioptila annectens'') is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It was formerly placed in the genus '' Heterophasia'' but is now the only species in the genus ''Leioptila''. It is found from the Himalayas to ...

* '' Leiothrix'' – (2 species) * '' Liocichla'' - 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) * '' Ianthocincla'' – laughingthrushes (8 species) – previously placed in ''Garrulax'' * '' Pterorhinus'' – laughingthrushes and babaxes (23 species) – previously placed in ''Garrulax''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1951184 Bird families Sylvioidea