White-Crested Laughing Thrush aka WCLT

[stormhawk]

As told to Gan earlier in the day, I spotted a pair of this species - Garrulax leucolophus, or otherwise known as the White-Crested Laughing Thrush - during a visit to NUH where my grandmother was warded. I noticed some nice little birds scavenging near the wards's open areas so I went close to investigate. Initially my idea was that it was some sort of Bulbul but after some SMSes to Gan, I finally found out it was indeed the White-Crested Laughing Thrush.

Not only did I come across one pair scavenging for biscuits, I realised they had 2 younger birds hiding in the trees and bushes just across from the building. So not only did I happen to spot a pair, I was lucky enough to witness one of the parents feeding their young! Its my first time seeing this species locally, and being a forest bird, it is indeed a rare sighting for me.

They were not fearful of me when I snapped those pics. Managed to get not only a few shots, but also 2 recorded videos on my handphone showing 2 of them feeding together on the crumbs in one video, and another video containing a clip of one of them trying to tear apart the plastic packet containing the biscuits.. by hacking with their beaks!

Its a nice little bird, native to Singapore but rarely seen, if Gan's info is correct. As promised, here's a compiled pic for one of them.

[turaco]

JY,

You are still excited with the birds . I typed WCLT in sms because I was lazy to spell out its full name, so 'aka' will not be understood by all . For bird's name, normally the 2nd word after the '-' will be in small letter & 'ed'. So, it's White-crested Laughing Thrush.

I hope your Grandma's fine, do pay more attention to her rather than the birds .

[Piscesgirl]

Very beautiful birds there in Singapore!

[stormhawk]

Hi Gan,

Yes I'm quite excited upon seeing these birds. Its my first time up close with such forest birds and the fact that they were not apprehensive about my presence shows that they have somehow adapted to an environment in close proximity with humans.

Alright I'll probably re-edit the pic if I'm not too lazy..

My grandma's getting better day by day.

Hi Deb,

Yes we got some beautiful birds over here. I've yet to see the rest though.

[budak]

This site has a excellent range of pictures of local and regional birds. Check out his galleries for the Botanic Gardens, Kranji, Tanah Merah marshes, local grasslands and Singapore forests.

Another good site is Bird Ecology Study Group. E.g. http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/01/termite-hatch.html

[stormhawk]

Nice stuff there. Thanks for the link budak.

According to the nurses at the ward where my grandma is in, they told me the pair of thrushes appear each morning and evening because they get biscuits from the staff. I'll be bring along my camera when I visit my grandma again. Would be a waste if I could not get a decent pic of these beautiful birds.