White-whiskered Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron morrisonianum)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White-whiskered Laughingthrush

Trochalopteron morrisonianum Ogilvie-Grant, 1906

26–28 cmLength73 gWeight

This large laughingthrush is unafraid of people and has a dark rufous face with a white supercilium and white malar stripe.

Busiest months: May · Most records: China

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

  1. White supercilium and malar stripe on dark rufous cheeks
  2. Wings and tail feathers blue-gray and golden-yellow
  3. Rufous-brown body covered in indistinct scaling
  4. Bill yellow to horn-colored

Where and when it's recorded

White-whiskered Laughingthrush has been recorded at 8 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Dasyueshan IBA – Xiaoxueshan Lodge (50K)Taiwan (China)2,229 records
  2. Yushan NP – TatakaTaiwan (China)1,151 records
  3. Nantou – Meifeng Highland Experimental Farm of NTUTaiwan (China)54 records
More places
  1. Nantou – Xitou Nature Education AreaTaiwan (China)29 records
  2. Dasyueshan IBA – Dasyueshan Forest-Road 23.5KTaiwan (China)17 records
  3. Taipei – WulaiTaiwan (China)3 records
  4. Taipei – Taipei Botanical GardenTaiwan (China)2 records
  5. Dasyueshan IBA – Hengliu Creek (15K)Taiwan (China)1 record

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.

About

The white-whiskered laughingthrush or Formosan laughing thrush (Trochalopteron morrisonianum) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to montane forests of the island of Taiwan (China).

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

Questions

How big is the White-whiskered Laughingthrush?

The White-whiskered Laughingthrush is about 26–28 cm long and weighs around 73 g.

Where does the White-whiskered Laughingthrush live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Taiwan (China). It is most often recorded in China.

When is the best time to see the White-whiskered Laughingthrush?

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

Is the White-whiskered Laughingthrush endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White-whiskered Laughingthrush as Near Threatened.

What does the White-whiskered Laughingthrush eat?

Main food: Fruit.

What family is the White-whiskered Laughingthrush in?

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

At a glance

Length
26–28 cm
Weight
73 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Fruit
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Near Threatened
More measurements
Wing
100 mm
Tail
126 mm
Bill
23 mm
Tarsus
38 mm

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

Range

Oriental: Taiwan (China)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

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 affineBrown-cheeked LaughingthrushBrown-cheeked LaughingthrushTrochalopteron henriciElliot's LaughingthrushElliot's LaughingthrushTrochalopteron elliotiiRed-tailed LaughingthrushRed-tailed LaughingthrushTrochalopteron milneiCollared LaughingthrushCollared LaughingthrushTrochalopteron yersini
White-whiskered Laughingthrush

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

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