PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN (Observe the Bird and recognize)..NILGIRI LAUGHING THRUSH..[From a Photograph of NITIN SRINIVASAMURTHY] ....WATERCOLOUR...A4...2013...The Black-chinned Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron cachinnans) is a species of Laughingthrush endemic to the high elevation areas of the Nilgiris and adjoining hill ranges in Peninsular India. The mosty rufous underparts, olive brown upperparts, a prominent white eyebrow and a black throat make it unmistakable. It is easily detected by its loud series of nasal call notes and can be hard to spot when it is hidden away inside a patch of dense vegetation. The species has a confusing taxonomic history, leading to a range of names. There are two subspecies, the nominate form in the Nilgiris (earlier called the Nilgiri Laughingthrush or Rufous-breasted Laughingthrush) and jerdoni (earlier called the Banasore Laughingthrush) with a grey upper breast and found in the Brahmagiris of Coorg and Banasura range of Wayanad. They are omnivorous, feeding on a range of insects, berries and nectar. In the past the grey-breasted form jerdoni was included with forms found south of the Palghat Gap, which are now separated as the Kerala Laughingthrush. The species was described by Jerdon in 1839. In 1872 he noted further that the form Trochalopteron jerdoni that he had discovered on the peak of Banasore in Wynaad would likely also occur in Coorg. This laughingthrush is about 24 cm long with a rufous underside and a dark olive grey upper body. The crown is slaty brown and there is a jagged and broad white supercilium margined with black. The throat, lores and a streak behind the eye are black. The tail is olive brown. The iris is reddish brown and the legs and bill are black. They feed on the nectar of Lobelia excelsa and Rhododendron in winter. When Strobilanthes is in bloom, the birds feed on its nectar as well as its petals. The feed on the fruits of Ilex spp. Insects are crushed before swallowing and sometimes battered against a hard substrate. Small tree frogs are sometimes taken. Large fruits are sometimes held under their foot and torn apart. [INFORMATION : WIKIPEDIA]
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:22:14 +0000
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