| Orange-breasted Laughingthrush | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Timaliidae |
| Genus: | Stactocichla |
| Species: | S. annamensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Stactocichla annamensis (Robinson & Kloss, 1919) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Garrulax annamensis |
|
The Orange-breasted Laughingthrush (Stactocichla annamensis) is a passerine bird in the Old World babbler family, Timaliidae. Until recently it was regarded as a subspecies of the Spot-breasted Laughingthrush (S. merulina) but has now been split as a separate species. The two have traditionally been placed in the genus Garrulax along with the other laughingthrushes but are now sometimes moved to a separate genus Stactocichla.
It is a medium-sized bird with a strong bill and legs and a fairly long tail. It is 24-25 cm long with a bill length of 25-27 mm, a wing length of 83-92 mm and a tail length of 88-100 mm. It is mostly plain brown apart from an orange stripe over the eye, a black throat and an orange breast with black streaks. It has a loud, melodious song. The Spot-breasted Laughingthrush is similar but has a pale throat and breast with dark spots and a pale stripe above the eye.
It is endemic to Vietnam where it occurs in the Da Lat Plateau in southern Annam. It inhabits montane forest between 915 and 1510 m above sea-level and can survive in degraded habitats such as secondary forest and cultivated land close to forested areas. It is most often seen in pairs. Although it only has a small range, it appears to be tolerant of habitat degradation and is classed as Least Concern by BirdLife International.