White-crested Laughingthrush

The white-crested laughingthrush is a highly social and vocal bird of forest and scrub from the Himalayan foothills to Southeast Asia, with a body length averaging 30cm and a tail of 13 to 15cm. It has a stocky build, strong blackish legs and bill, a broad black eye-mask, a white head, throat and upper chest, a light grey nape and rufescent mantle, back and lower underparts. The subspecies G. l. leucolophus occurs in north India, Nepal, Bhutan and southern Tibet (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is commonly found in foothill forests up to 1,600m, foraging on the ground in small parties, tossing leaf litter aside with its beak to uncover invertebrates, and also eating fruits, seeds, nectar and small reptiles and amphibians. Nests are shallow cups in shrubs and trees 2 to 6m up, made of bamboo leaves and grass bound with twigs; bamboo provides ideal nesting cover.