Red-tailed Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron milnei)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Red-tailed Laughingthrush

Trochalopteron milnei David, A, 1874

26–28 cmLength80 gWeight

It has a dark ochre-gray body, a bright chestnut crown, a black face, and deep red wings and tail.

Busiest months: January · Most records: China, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma)

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Bright chestnut crown
  2. Blackish face with whitish ear-coverts
  3. Deep red wings and tail
  4. Dark ochre-gray body

Male, female and young

Sexes similar.

Where and when it's recorded

Red-tailed Laughingthrush has been recorded at 51 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 4 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Baihualing [General Area]China432 records
  2. Shiti VillageChina105 records
  3. Kuankuoshui NNRChina54 records
More places
  1. HongbengheChina38 records
  2. Baihualing – Hide 11China37 records
  3. Defu Nature ReserveChina35 records
  4. Nanling NNR [Ruyang Area]China22 records
  5. TongbiguanChina21 records
  6. JiangjiazhaiChina20 records
  7. Mao'er Mountain NNRChina19 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaThailandMyanmar (Burma)Laos

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The red-tailed laughingthrush (Trochalopteron milnei) is a species of bird in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. It is found in the montane forests of Myanmar, Laos, southern China and central Vietnam.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Red-tailed Laughingthrush?

The Red-tailed Laughingthrush is about 26–28 cm long and weighs around 80 g.

Where does the Red-tailed Laughingthrush live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Myanmar to southern China and central Vietnam. It is most often recorded in China, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).

When is the best time to see the Red-tailed Laughingthrush?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Red-tailed Laughingthrush endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Red-tailed Laughingthrush as Least Concern.

What does the Red-tailed Laughingthrush eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Red-tailed Laughingthrush in?

It belongs to the family Laughingthrushes & Allies (Leiothrichidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
26–28 cm
Weight
80 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
101 mm
Tail
120 mm
Bill
24 mm
Tarsus
37 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: Myanmar to southern China and central Vietnam

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2
  • Trochalopteron milnei sharpei n Myanmar and s China to nw Thailand and n Indochina
  • Trochalopteron milnei sinianum se China (except nw Fujian)

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Laughingthrushes & Allies Leiothrichidae
Genus
Trochalopteron

Other birds in the genus Trochalopteron

Scaly LaughingthrushScaly LaughingthrushTrochalopteron subunicolorBrown-capped LaughingthrushBrown-capped LaughingthrushTrochalopteron austeniBlue-winged LaughingthrushBlue-winged LaughingthrushTrochalopteron squamatumStreaked LaughingthrushStreaked LaughingthrushTrochalopteron lineatumBhutan LaughingthrushBhutan LaughingthrushTrochalopteron imbricatumStriped LaughingthrushStriped LaughingthrushTrochalopteron virgatumVariegated LaughingthrushVariegated LaughingthrushTrochalopteron variegatumBlack-faced LaughingthrushBlack-faced LaughingthrushTrochalopteron affineWhite-whiskered LaughingthrushWhite-whiskered LaughingthrushTrochalopteron morrisonianumBrown-cheeked LaughingthrushBrown-cheeked LaughingthrushTrochalopteron henriciElliot's LaughingthrushElliot's LaughingthrushTrochalopteron elliotiiCollared LaughingthrushCollared LaughingthrushTrochalopteron yersini
Red-tailed Laughingthrush

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by JJ Harrison. ↗

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