Laughingthrush

Laughingthrush
Red-tailed laughingthrush
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Superfamily:	Sylvioidea
Family:	Leiothrichidae Swainson, 1832
Genera
17; see article text

The laughingthrushes and their allies are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. The entire family used to be included in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae. The family contains 143 species and is divided into 17 genera. The species are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of mostly subtropical and tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, although the plain laughingthrush extends into the Palearctic with others like the Emeishan Liocichla inhabiting cold highland areas.

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 desert. They are primarily insectivorous, although many will also take berries, and the larger species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates.