I’ve a robust suspicion that the one that named the Collared Laughingthrush solely had a black-and-white photograph obtainable when deciding on the title.
In any other case, why give attention to the (not even very distinctive) collar in such a colourful chicken?
Not for nothing, eBird calls it a “Halloween-themed Laughingthrush: decked out in black, grey, and orange”.
eBird has one other attention-grabbing comment: “Bizarrely reminiscent in patterning of a lot smaller Silver-eared Mesia and Golden-breasted Fulvetta” – see for your self (mesia and fulvetta photographs taken in China).
The Collared Laughingthrush is listed as Endangered – its vary on the HBW distribution map appears to be like frightfully small.
Or to quote the HBW immediately: “Inhabitants estimated at 2500–9999 people and lowering; occupied vary estimated as being merely 720 km²”. That’s concerning the measurement of Singapore.
A paper on its standing has many slightly miserable photographs illustrating the destruction of its habitat (and that of the Gray-crowned Crocias – see under).
As with many birds on this space, its scientific title Trochalopteron yersini is derived from a French colonialist – Dr Alexandre Émile John Yersin (1863-1943), a Swiss-French bacteriologist and a Director of the Pasteur Institute in French Indochina.
He could also be happier with giving a reputation to this chicken than with one other organism bearing his title. The bacillus accountable for the bubonic plague, which he co-discovered, was later named Yersinia pestis.
The Black-hooded Laughingthrush is one other laughingthrush with a scientific title (Garrulax milleti) derived from a French colonialist – on this case, Fernand Victor Millet (1878-1946), the French Superintendent of Forests in Langbian Province, Annam, and a big-game hunter.
This sounds a bit skinny to benefit having a species named after him – and I’m not significantly keen on hunters. In case you are an aged male with a need to indicate off your masculinity, simply purchase an overpriced sports activities automotive, don’t kill animals.
Both means, laughingthrushes will snicker at you, not with you.
I don’t fairly get the rationale behind eBird describing the Black-hooded Laughingthrush as unique-looking. To me, it doesn’t look that a lot totally different from the White-cheeked Laughingthrush featured subsequent.
And now for one thing utterly totally different (Monty Python) – not likely: the White-cheeked Laughingthrush.
You will have guessed the place its scientific title Pterorhinus vassali is derived from.
Joseph Marguerite Jean-Baptiste Vassal (1867-1957) was a French surgeon, a researcher on the Pasteur Institute in Indochina, and a Director of Well being in French Equatorial Africa.
If Wikipedia entries are any indication, he was later overshadowed by his British spouse Gabrielle Maud Vassal, who collected many specimens, then entered the French Resistance in WW2, serving to downed airmen escape, and later grew to become referred to as a photographer, creator, and public speaker.
The Darkish-sided Thrush is straightforward to see in some Dalat blinds, so it got here as a shock to me to listen to that it’s apparently a really troublesome chicken to see elsewhere.
As at all times, NepalDesk is nice for an overblown characterization of the species: “Darkish-sided Thrush: The Melodious Twilight Dancer”.
In actuality, tossing gadgets round on the bottom searching for meals, it has the grumpy but environment friendly look I in all probability have when cleansing up the trash of earlier occupiers in a chicken disguise.
eBird remarks on the unusually lengthy invoice of the chicken – and certainly, the Chinese language title for the species interprets as Lengthy-billed Thrush.
Because the Siberian Thrush passes by way of Shanghai throughout migration, there may be in all probability nothing I can say concerning the species that I’ve not mentioned in earlier Shanghai posts.
Nonetheless, it isn’t a chicken I thoughts seeing repeatedly. So fashionable.
The scenario is comparable with the Orange-headed Thrush – a really enticing species …
… however I simply wrote about it in one among my Di Linh posts (which hopefully will probably be revealed earlier than this one, if I don’t mess issues up).
It appears that evidently the folks operating the “Avifauna of Hong Kong” web site don’t care a lot for cuteness – why else would they describe the Lesser Shortwing as a “pretty nondescript, small, brown babbler”?
It is usually stunning that each eBird and the HBW state that men and women look related – whereas on the similar time, the photographs and illustrations look fairly totally different (and that’s coming from someone who normally actually shouldn’t be superb at distinguishing between similar-looking birds).
Within the photograph under, you may see a justification for the scientific title Brachypteryx leucophris (leucophris means white-browed).
In a paper on the net marketplace for songbirds, the imply value for a Lesser Shortwing is indicated to be USD 14.
Happily for the Lesser Shortwing, it is just listed as quantity 88 within the species rating on the market inside the analysis interval – nonetheless, which means 163 poor birds of this species had been on the market.
eBird describes the Gray-crowned Crocias as resembling “a three-way cross of a shrike, a sibia, and a laughingthrush”.
The Gray-crowned Crocias is listed as Endangered – its vary is certainly very restricted.
In actual fact, for a very long time, it was solely identified from 4 specimens earlier than being rediscovered in 1995 (supply).
The explanations for the standing are depressingly acquainted – destruction and degradation of its montane evergreen forest habitat (supply).
The web site of Linda Corridor Library has a web page on Elizabeth Gould, the namesake of Ms. Gould’s Sunbird.
Here’s a direct hyperlink to her drawing of Ms. Gould’s Sunbird.
For rather more info on her, learn Donna’s latest evaluate of the e-book “Birds of the World: The Artwork of Elizabeth Gould”.
I need to confess I used to be sort of hoping for my mates from NepalDesk to write down concerning the chicken so I may make enjoyable of them (“Ms. Gould’s Sunbird: Shiny Jewel Of The Forest”?), however sadly, they ignore the species despite the fact that it may be present in Nepal.
In case you are considering of canceling your Spotify subscription and getting a White-tailed Robin as a substitute, higher assume once more.
The males have a repertoire of 5-28 tune sorts (supply), so in the event you choose the mistaken robin, the music choice obtainable to you’ll not be any greater than that of a division retailer round Christmas.
The feminine is described as “brown and slightly nondescript”, which appears a bit unfair.
Bulbuls are nonetheless going robust at Dalat, although in comparison with the lowlands, some species are a bit extra montane: Mountain Bulbul …
… Black Bulbul …
… Flavescent Bulbul …
… and Sooty-headed Bulbul.
The Hill Prinia is a slightly enticing species – for a prinia (The White Stripes: “You’re fairly good wanting (for a lady)“).
I like to recommend not wanting on the photographs in a analysis paper titled “A Pathological Report on Rupture of Crop Related to Parasitism in a Hill Prinia (Prinia superciliaris)” – not less than not proper after a meal.
As in all probability talked about in different Vietnam posts earlier than, many Siberian Blue Robins seen right here look comparatively crappy. I suppose they’ll afford to as they don’t breed right here.
All I can say about this one is that it’s a leaf warbler (Phylloscopus leafwarblerosus).
When Blue-winged Minlas have their annual conference, the attendants from South Vietnam (subspecies Actinodura cyanouroptera orientalis) typically get bullied for not having blue wings. This must cease.
