Red-winged Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron formosum)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Red-winged Laughingthrush

Trochalopteron formosum Verreaux, J, 1869

≈26 cmLength94 gWeight

This bird has a brown body and large areas of red on the wings and tail.

Busiest months: May · Most records: China

Looks like Red-tailed Laughingthrush

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Body feathers mostly brown
  2. Large areas of red on the wings and tail
  3. Gray crown and ear-coverts with dark stripes
  4. Dark throat, with a blackish bill, legs and feet

Voice

Loud song with whistles.

Similar species

Red-tailed Laughingthrush
Red-tailed Laughingthrush

Red-tailed Laughingthrush has a rufous crown and a grayer back and breast.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May · Most records: China

Red-winged Laughingthrush has been recorded at 35 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Longcanggou [General Area]China132 records
  2. Wawu Mountain – Upper LevelChina100 records
  3. Wawu Mountain [General Area]China88 records
More places
  1. Wawu Mountain – Summit [2800m]China64 records
  2. Mount EmeiChina29 records
  3. Longcanggou [middle elevations]China20 records
  4. Tangjiahe NNRChina14 records
  5. Yibin Laojunshan NNRChina13 records
  6. Tanshi VillageChina12 records
  7. Longcanggou [low elevations]China7 records

Countries and regions with the most records

China

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

Questions

How big is the Red-winged Laughingthrush?

The Red-winged Laughingthrush is about ≈26 cm long and weighs around 94 g.

Where does the Red-winged Laughingthrush live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: southern China and northwestern Vietnam. It is most often recorded in China.

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

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

Is the Red-winged Laughingthrush endangered?

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

What does the Red-winged Laughingthrush eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Red-winged Laughingthrush in?

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

At a glance

Length
≈26 cm
Weight
94 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Varied
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
101 mm
Tail
115 mm
Bill
24 mm
Tarsus
39 mm

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

Range

Oriental: southern China and northwestern Vietnam

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2
  • Trochalopteron formosum formosum sc China
  • Trochalopteron formosum greenwayi se Yunnan (s China) and n Vietnam

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 elliotiiRed-tailed LaughingthrushRed-tailed LaughingthrushTrochalopteron milnei
Red-winged Laughingthrush

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

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