Palani Laughingthrush

The Palani laughingthrush is endemic to the hills of the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap in southern India, in high montane forest. This grey-bibbed, rufous-bellied bird has a prominent dark eyestripe and a broad white brow, with the grey of the upper breast faintly streaked brown. It was grouped with the grey-breasted subspecies of the black-chinned laughingthrush and known as the grey-breasted laughingthrush; the two forms were together formerly treated as the Kerala laughingthrush (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found in pairs and small groups and sometimes joins mixed-species feeding flocks, feeding on the nectar of Lobelia excelsa, Rhododendron and Strobilanthes flowers, the petals of some flowers and the fruits of a range of plants. The breeding season is December to June, peaking in April and May. The usual clutch is two blue eggs with reddish markings, indistinguishable from the black-chinned laughingthrush's, and unhatched eggs may be eaten by the parents. SoIB 2023 treats it as a Western Ghats endemic and rates it a Moderate conservation priority, with a Restricted range of about 9,570 km² and an inconclusive long-term trend of about −39% (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).