Our Animals
FUN FACT
White-crested Laughingthrushes live up to their name: flock-members combine to produce sudden, outbursts of extended cackling laughter, typically involving rapid chattering and repetitive double-note phrases, which fade out as suddenly as they started, sometimes with a single individual continuing to mutter some subdued notes.
The White-crested Laughingthrush occurs in broadleaf evergreen forest and mixed deciduous forest in Southeast Asia and in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. It will also inhabit disturbed forests, secondary forest and gardens. This is a very social and vocal species, often foraging on the ground in groups of 6 to 20 individuals while looking for insects and other invertebrates in the leaf litter. The White-crested Laughingthrush nests cooperatively, meaning the nestlings are fed by a group of birds including the genetic parents and their previous offspring. These helpers take over attending the fledglings once they leave the nest, freeing the parents to begin nesting again. This species is generally common and not globally threatened.
Habitat
Broadleaf evergreen forest and mixed deciduous forest, including disturbed, secondary, and regenerating forest; scrub, bamboo-jungle, overgrown plantations, and gardens near forest
Diet
Forages in groups of 6-20 or more birds; usually on the ground, searching for insects and other invertebrates in the leaf litter, and sometimes small vertebrates, berries, seeds, and nectar
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
White-crested Laughingthrushes build a large, shallow cup of coarse grasses, bamboo or other dead leaves for a nest in shrubs or low trees, and lay a clutch of 2–6 eggs. Eggs are incubated for about 14 day, and nestlings are fed by all group members (parents and any previously fledged young); they fledge in just 10–12 days and are fed for another 3-4 weeks, primarily by genetically related helpers, freeing the parents to begin nesting again.
The National Aviary is home to more than 500 birds and other animals representing 150 species; some of which live in behind-the-scenes habitats. To enhance our guests’ educational experience, and with regard to individual bird preferences, different species may spend time in various public-facing habitats.