Actinodura cyanouroptera

Doi Ang Khang, Thailand

The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. The family contains 133 species which are divided into 16 genera. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire family used to be included in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae.

The Leiothrichidae They are small to medium-sized birds. They have strong legs, and many are quite terrestrial. They typically have generalised bills, similar to those of a thrush. Most have predominantly brown plumage, with minimal difference between the sexes, but many more brightly coloured species also exist. This group is not strongly migratory, and most species have short rounded wings, and a weak flight. They live in lightly wooded or scrubland environments, ranging from swamp to near-desert. They are primarily insectivorous, although many will also take berries, and the larger species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates. Read more about these birds: 

But first about where I first saw this lovely little Minla - the spectacular mountains of Northern Thailand. The Dois of northern Thailand have been very kind to me from a birding perspective. There are so many I have already talked about and so many still remaining. I have written an overview here on the Birds of the Dois and have now started to break them up into individuals like the Gray-backed Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Spectacled Barwing, Siberian Rubythroat, the stunning Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird and the numerous other birds I have seen here.

About 685 kilometers to the north of Bangkok lies the former seat of the ancient Lanna Kingdom and is considered one of the most scenic provinces in the country given its mountain ranges, valleys, flora and fauna. A land of misty mountains and colourful hill tribes, a playground for seasoned travellers, and a delight for adventurers. Despite its relatively small size and blissful calm, Chiang Mai truly has it all, a city that is still firmly Thai in its atmosphere and attitude. It is the second-largest changwat (province) of Thailand. Bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lampang and Lamphun to the south, Tak to the southwest, Mae Hong Son to the west and the Shan State of Myanmar to the north. Located in a verdant valley on the banks of the Ping River, Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 as the capital of the ancient Lanna Kingdom. Today it is a place where past and the present seamlessly merge with modern buildings standing side by side with venerable temples. Of all the places I have visited in Thailand, Chiang Mai with its forests and mountains and the historic city of Ayutthaya are by far my favourites.

The word Chiang itself is from North Thai, or Lanna, meaning town or city and Mai means new making Chiang Mai the New City as it was founded later than Chiang Rai, the earlier capital of King Meng Rai. The districts in the province are called amphoe, and sub-districts are called tambon. Another twist is the use of Nakhon (or Nakorn or Nakhorn), derived from the Sanskrit word Nagara, also means city, though strictly speaking it refers to a capital city such as Nakorn Sri Ayutthaya (more on Ayutthaya later). Indeed to emphasise its former status you may sometimes see Chiang Mai referred to as Nakhon Ping. Other common names of geographical features include mae (river) and doi which is north Thai for mountain - for example Doi Inthanon and Mae Ping.

The four Dois we spent our time on were Doi Inthanon, Doi Ang Khang, Doi Luang and Doi SanJu.

Doi Ankhang is a mountain belonging to the Himalayan foot hill range, located at the Myanmar (Burmese) border. The highest point is 1,928 metres. Although chiefly deforested, this is still one of Northern Thailand’s most prominent birdwatching areas, due to more and rarer bird species being in residence, as well as being a popular resting point for numerous migratory birds. Examples of rare and beautiful birds inhabiting this area include the Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Spot-breasted Parrotbill and the Red-faced Liocichla. It is not so uncommon to spot the Red-tailed Laughing Thrush here. Around The Royal Agricultural Project Station you can find Brown, Burmese and Long-tailed Shrike and also Fire-capped Tits and Silver-eared Mesia, White – tailed Robin & Maroon Oriole.

We didn’t have the good fortune to see all the species on all the mountains, that would have been impossible, but we did rack up quite a number of species - about 95 of them.

Read about the other birds from these beautiful mountains. These are only a few of the huge number I have spotted and recorded there.

With that said, meet this lovely little minla from Doi Ang Khang.

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Blue-winged Minla/ Blue-winged Siva

The Blue-winged Minla (Actinodura cyanouroptera), also known as the blue-winged siva, is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It has in the past been placed in the genus Minla and also in the monotypic Siva. It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

The family Leiothrichidae was introduced (as a subfamily Leiotrichanae) by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1832. A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the family published in 2018 led to substantial revision of the taxonomic classification. The laughingthrushes in the genus Garrulax were found to belong to three separate clades that had diverged in the Miocene 7-9 million years ago. The genus was therefore split with Garrulax restricted to one clade and the genera Pterorhinus and Ianthocincla resurrected for the other two clades. The genus Turdoides was also split and species moved into the resurrected genus Argya.

In a separate change, the crocias were moved to the genus Laniellus Swainson, 1832 which has priority over Crocias Temminck, 1836.

The family contains 133 species in 16 genera:

• Grammatoptila – striated laughingthrush

• Cutia – cutias (2 species)

• Laniellus – Crocias (2 species)

• Trochalopteron – laughingthrushes (19 species)

• Actinodura – barwings and minlas (9 species)

• Montecincla – laughingthrushes (4 species)

• Minla – red-tailed minla

• Leioptila – rufous-backed sibia

• Leiothrix – (2 species)

• Liocichla - liocichlas (5 species)

• Heterophasia - sibias (7 species)

• Argya – mainly babblers (16 species) – previous placed in Turdoides

• Turdoides – babblers (19 species)

• Garrulax – laughingthrushes (14 species)

• Ianthocincla – laughingthrushes (8 species) – previously placed in Garrulax

• Pterorhinus – laughingthrushes and babaxes (23 species) – previously placed in Garrulax

Our minla today is a part of the Actinodura which includes Barwings and Minlas. These too are passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae found in the hills of Southern Asia, from Eastern India to China and Taiwan. The genus contains nine species:

• Bar-throated minla (Actinodura strigula) (Hodgson, 1837): Distributed through central Nepal through India, southern China and Bhutan

• Spectacled barwing (Actinodura ramsayi) (Walden, 1875): Distributed in China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• Rusty-fronted barwing (Actinodura egertoni) (Gould, 1836): Distributed in Southeast Asia from the Himalayas to north-eastern Myanmar.

• Blue-winged minla (Actinodura cyanouroptera) (Hodgson, 1837): Distributed in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam.

• Hoary-throated barwing (Actinodura nipalensis) (Hodgson, 1836): Distributed in Bhutan, India, Tibet, and Nepal.

• Black-crowned barwing (Actinodura sodangorum) (Eames, JC, Trai Trong Le, Nguyen Cu & Eve, 1998): Distributed in Laos and Vietnam

• Streaked barwing (Actinodura souliei) (Oustalet, 1897): Distributed in China and Vietnam.

• Streak-throated barwing (Actinodura waldeni) (Godwin-Austen, 1874): Distributed in western Yunnan, southern Tibet, Northeast India and Myanmar.

• Taiwan barwing (Actinodura morrisoniana) (Ogilvie-Grant, 1906): Distributed in Taiwan.

The Blue-winged Minla is about 14–15·5 cm long and weighs between 14–28 grams. It is a rather small, slim, pale brownish babbler with longish tail, most races have bluish-black crown streaks and blue wing edges and tail. The male of the nominate race has a soft pale grey crown to upper mantle, a crown with long parallel blue-fringed blackish streaks, lower mantle, back, greater upperwing-coverts and scapulars to rump is a creamy buff-brown. The primary coverts are black with cobalt-blue fringes, and the edges of the primaries are cobalt-blue, the tertials are black with narrow white tips and the tail is black with narrow white fringe-tips and cobalt-blue edges. The face (lores, supercilium, cheek, ear-coverts) is a pale whitish-grey, the throat and underparts a pale pinkish-grey with whiter belly and vent, while the lower flanks are tinged buff. The iris is grey, greyish-brown, or dark hazel to whitish or yellowish-grey. The bill yellowish-flesh to chrome-yellow, culmen brownish to dark horn; legs brownish to greyish-olive or fleshy white. The female is very similar to the male, but has slightly less blue crown and paler mantle. The juvenile has browner, less streaked crown than adult. Race aglae has (sex for sex) slightly heavier-streaked crown than nominate; wingatei differs from previous in lacking white tips (trailing edges) on scapulars and tail; sordida has much-reduced crown streaks, duller upperparts and whiter underparts; rufodorsalis has chestnut-brown crown and nape, crown with vague grey streaks, chestnut mantle and back and rufous uppertail-coverts, also richer blue on wings and tail; sordidior has browner crown and upperparts than other races, blue of wing darker, more violet, blue of tail reduced to vague tinge on outer fringes, whiter below; orientalis is larger than others, plumage as last but with paler grey-brown crown, greyer upperparts, and duller, almost entirely washed-out blue in wing, with whiter fringing on secondaries.

Eight subspecies recognized.

• Actinodura cyanouroptera cyanouroptera: Distributed in Uttarakhand E to Bhutan, all NE Indian hill states and NW Myanmar.

• Actinodura cyanouroptera aglae: Distributed in NE India (Mizoram) and W Myanmar (Chin Hills).

• Actinodura cyanouroptera sordida: Distributed in SE Myanmar (incuding Tenasserim) and NW and W Thailand.

• Actinodura cyanouroptera wingatei: Distributed in NE Myanmar to n Thailand, s China and n Indochina; Hainan

• Actinodura cyanouroptera croizati: Distributed in SW China (se Sichuan in Ipin region)

• Actinodura cyanouroptera rufodorsalis: Distributed in SE Thailand and SW Cambodia.

• Actinodura cyanouroptera orientalis: Distributed in S Vietnam (S Annam) and adjacent E Cambodia (Phumi Dak Dam, in S Mondulkiri).

• Actinodura cyanouroptera sordidior: Distributed in S Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.

The Blue-winged Minla favours more open broadleaf evergreen, pine and mixed forests, forest edges, secondary growth, bamboo, cultivation near forest. In C Laos common also in Fokienia (an evergreen tree rising up to 40-50 feet in height, with a trunk up to 3 feet in girth, without down in all its parts) - dominated forest. They occur at 250–3000 m, mainly c. 800–2600 m; in Bhutan 1600–2400 m, occasionally to 3000 m, some apparently descending as low as 200 m during harsh winter conditions. These are resident, perhaps with some local seasonal altitudinal displacements; in Bhutan reported descent occurs by Nov and ascent by mid-Apr. in NE India, they are described as a regular winter migrant in Nameri National Park, in Assam, and a winter immigrant in Nagaland.

They feed on insects, berries and seeds and are usually found in parties of 5–20 individuals outside the breeding season, and are a frequent and conspicuous component of bird waves, which may include other babblers, such as minlas, cutias and sibias; in Assam (NE India), seen singly in association with mixed flocks. They forage in the canopy, as well as in denser middle-storey growth, bushes and saplings, particularly along forest edge. Also comes closer to ground, especially when seeking certain fruits. Their song is a rather quickly repeated, very thin, high-pitched “psii sii-suuu” or “séé-si-syáóú”, first 2 notes short and high (sometimes one or both are lacking), third greatly stressed and strongly downslurred (aglae); a rising and falling “tsuit-twoo” or “seeet-síyóu”, first note longer and more upturned than in previous song type, last shorter but more strongly slurred, and a “suwéét-suwéeo”, both notes strongly slurred (both sordida). Songs repeated every few seconds. Calls include irregular, short, dry staccato buzzes, and short “whit” and “bwik” contact notes.

The Blue-winged Minla is known to breed between March–August across their range. They have a co-operative nest-building, involving three birds, noted in Peninsular Malaysia. The nest is a fairly small cup, made of bamboo or other leaves, grass, rootlets, moss, tendrils and creeper stems (exterior often plastered with moss, cobweb and wool), lined with rootlets, fine grasses and sometimes hair, placed within 2 m of ground (usually below 1 m) in bush or streambank, occasionally up to 8 m above ground in tree (where may be suspended from fork or at extremity of branch). Clutch 2–5 eggs (3–4 in Indian Subcontinent, 2–4 in Myanmar), deep blue or bluish-white with a few small black or rusty-brown and violet spots; incubation period 14 days; nestling period in captivity 16 days.

The Blue-winged Minla is not globally threatened and is classified as Least Concern. They are common in Nepal, widespread in Bhutan, becoming steadily commoner farther East; near Zhemgang, a density of 1·2 territories/km of road at 1600–1900 m; present in Thrumshingla National Park. They are also common in India, where present in Buxa Tiger Reserve (West Bengal), in Nameri National Park (Assam), and in and/or near Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh). Formerly resident in Bangladesh, but no recent records. Common in Natmautaung National Park, in Myanmar. Common in S China, where recently recorded in six (11%) of 54 sites surveyed. Locally common in Hong Kong, where population of captive origin. Generally common in SE Asian range. In Laos, common in Dong Hua Sao National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) and, above 1400 m, in Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA. In Vietnam, present in Thuong Da Nhim and Chu Yang Sin Nature Reserves (Da Lat Plateau), in S Annam, and in Pu Mat and Vu Quang Nature Reserves in the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area.

It was a very pleasant morning with a nice breeze and beautiful diffused light. The conditions were perfect for photography and while we were photographing the Ultramarine Flycatcher, the Minla came by in the background. These are some of the photos of the rare Blue-winged Minla I took that morning on the slopes of Doi AngKhang.

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