Red-faced Liocichla

12 Feb

Liocichla phoenicea

Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand

I have talked about the Old World Babblers, the Laughingthrushes and the Spectacled Barwing of the family Leiothrichidae. Today it is about one particular bird of the family Leiothrichidae - The Red-faced Liocichla (Liocichla phoenicea)

Laughingthrushes are a family of Old World passerine birds 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 Timaliidae.

These laughingthrushes are small to medium-sized birds with 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.

The family contains 133 species divided into 16 genera.

Of the 5 species of Liocichlas, today I present the Red-faced Liocichla

The red-faced liocichla (Liocichla phoenicea) is a species of bird in the Leiothrichidae family. The scarlet-faced liocichla was formerly considered a subspecies.

L. phoenicea is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Northeast India, Nepal and western Yunnan. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

It is a brightly-coloured medium-sized laughingthrush. Brownish overall with a sooty-black eyebrow and bright red face and wing panel. It is shy and difficult to see; and moves through dense undergrowth of tropical broadleaf forest singly, in pairs, or in flocks (sometimes with other species as I have observed here with the Spectacled Barwings and Black-headed and Dark-backed Sibias). Song is a short but beautiful bout of whistles and warbling: “chew-cho-chew-cheuuwee.” Also gives loud buzzy and rattling notes when foraging.

A fairly small laughingthrush-like babbler, mostly plain brown but with crimson face and throat sides, bold black lateral crown stripe and scarlet in the wings and tail. Sexes are similar and the juvenile has a duller face than the adult, upperparts less rufous, lateral crown stripe less distinct, rufescent tail tip less sharply defined, iris brown. Race bakeri has slightly greyer crown than nominate, slightly darker and less extensive red on head, little rufous or chestnut tinge on rear upperparts, slightly paler and browner underparts, extensive grey on centre of abdomen.

There are two subspecies:

Liocichla phoenicea phoenicea found in Sikkim and N West Bengal E to Bhutan and NE India (Arunachal Pradesh) and adjacent N Myanmar and S China (Gongshan, in extreme NW Yunnan).

Liocichla phoenicea bakeri found in Meghalaya, S Assam (N Cachar), Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, in NE India, N and W Myanmar and adjacent S China (W Yunnan).

It feeds on insects, berries and seeds and is usually found singly, in pairs or in small groups of 4–5 individuals, depending on season; sometimes it associates with other species in bird waves - I have observed groups of 4-5 individuals with the Spectacled Barwings, Black-headed and Dark-backed Sibias. It is a very skulking and unobtrusive bird typically feeding in undergrowth and on ground, sometimes in open. It occasionally ventures into trees, and has been observed 10 m up in fruiting tree.

It has loud, beautiful, clear, cheerful song of repeated phrases of 5–8 notes (sometimes shortened to 3), last part usually rising but sometimes falling, phrases include e.g. “chewi-ter-twi-twitoo”, “chi-cho-choee-wi-chu-chooee”, “chi-wee-ee-ee-weeoo” and “chiu-too-ee” etc.