Melodious Laughing-Thrush in Silver Spring, MD (long)
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Phil Davis
Jun 12, 2017, 1:57:31 PM6/12/17
to MDbirding
Hi MDBirders:
Background
A little over two weeks ago, I received "killer" videos of a Melodious Laughing-Thrush in the "old" Hillandale area of Silver Spring, MD (off of New Hampshire Avenue and Powder Mill Road). The bird was seen and recorded on Thursday, May 25th and was also heard the next day. The bird was observed in a private backyard and the logistics of the situation did not permit any public notice of the bird's presence. The homeowner continued to watch for the bird and my wife and I searched extensively over a wide area for it several times over the next week, but without success.
Taxonomy and Distribution
The Melodious Laughing-Thrush is now called, by most authorities, including the AOS [AOU], as the Hwamei. The name "hwamei" comes from the Chinese and means "painted eyebrow" referring to the distinctive marking around the bird's eyes.
Most authorities have already split the Hwamei into two species, the Chinese Hwamei, native to mainland Asia, and the Taiwan Hwamei. This bird had a distinctive white eye ring and bold white eyebrow, so it was a Chinese Hwamei, Garrulax canorus. Within the Chinese Hwamei species are two subspecies; the nominate subspecies G. c. canorus occurs across south-eastern and central China and in northern and central Vietnam and Laos. The subspecies L. c. owstoni is found on Hainan Island (and is being recommended by some for a further spilt!).
Depending on your source, you may also see this species with the scientific name of Leucodioptron canorum.
Behavior, Description and Song
The species is a popular cage bird because of its attractive song. In the wild, it is normally a skulking bird and is often very difficult to see since it typically feeds on the ground among leaf litter, foraging for insects and fruit. However, this Silver Spring bird was observed perched up high in a tree branch singing its melodious, mockingbird-like song. Therefore, this bird was a male since the females don't sing. The bird is slightly smaller than a robin.
The homeowner took three video clips of this bird, on 05/25/2017. The clips are 11 seconds, 18 seconds, and 1:28. I have posted these clips to one of my web sites, found here ...
https://birdimages.smugmug.com/organize/Melodious-LaughingThrush-in-Silver-Spring-MD
You can also google "chinese hwamei" to find plenty of Internet photos and videos of these birds singing in the wild and in cages.
Range and Introductions
This species is naturally distributed in southern China, Taiwan, Laos and Vietnam.
It has been introduced to Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and Hawaii. This species has been imported into Japan since the seventeenth century and it has been observed in the wild since the 1980s. This species was also introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1900s and to California in 1941 accidentally and purposely. In the Hawaiian Islands it was introduced in the early 20th century and now occurs in both native forest and man-made habitats. It is common on Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island but less so on Oahu and Molokai. The cause of disappearance in California is not known. While it failed to establish a population in California, it succeeded in naturalizing in the Hawaiian Islands, where it became the most common species below 1200 meters in elevation.
Captivity
The Hwamei is a popular cage bird in China and Southeast Asia and a large number of individuals have been exported from Hong Kong. As a song bird, the Hwamei can make beautiful songs with different melodies. This is why the Hwamei became a famous cage bird and is purchased as a pet by people. This species can be found on the web for sale, mostly from California sources. Prices seem to average around $1500. In the Hillandale area are several Buddhists temples and the release of animals, especially birds, is an element of the Buddhist culture; however, it is doubtful that the release of such an expensive pet would be intentional, but who knows?
Summary
Even though this bird was not chaseable, we wanted to spread the word so that people in this area could be alert for any unusual loud, melodious songs. I saw no North American records of Melodious Laughing-Thrush/Hwamei on eBird. I also did not find any matches on several of the local lost bird web pages.
Background
A little over two weeks ago, I received "killer" videos of a Melodious Laughing-Thrush in the "old" Hillandale area of Silver Spring, MD (off of New Hampshire Avenue and Powder Mill Road). The bird was seen and recorded on Thursday, May 25th and was also heard the next day. The bird was observed in a private backyard and the logistics of the situation did not permit any public notice of the bird's presence. The homeowner continued to watch for the bird and my wife and I searched extensively over a wide area for it several times over the next week, but without success.
Taxonomy and Distribution
The Melodious Laughing-Thrush is now called, by most authorities, including the AOS [AOU], as the Hwamei. The name "hwamei" comes from the Chinese and means "painted eyebrow" referring to the distinctive marking around the bird's eyes.
Most authorities have already split the Hwamei into two species, the Chinese Hwamei, native to mainland Asia, and the Taiwan Hwamei. This bird had a distinctive white eye ring and bold white eyebrow, so it was a Chinese Hwamei, Garrulax canorus. Within the Chinese Hwamei species are two subspecies; the nominate subspecies G. c. canorus occurs across south-eastern and central China and in northern and central Vietnam and Laos. The subspecies L. c. owstoni is found on Hainan Island (and is being recommended by some for a further spilt!).
Depending on your source, you may also see this species with the scientific name of Leucodioptron canorum.
Behavior, Description and Song
The species is a popular cage bird because of its attractive song. In the wild, it is normally a skulking bird and is often very difficult to see since it typically feeds on the ground among leaf litter, foraging for insects and fruit. However, this Silver Spring bird was observed perched up high in a tree branch singing its melodious, mockingbird-like song. Therefore, this bird was a male since the females don't sing. The bird is slightly smaller than a robin.
The homeowner took three video clips of this bird, on 05/25/2017. The clips are 11 seconds, 18 seconds, and 1:28. I have posted these clips to one of my web sites, found here ...
https://birdimages.smugmug.com/organize/Melodious-LaughingThrush-in-Silver-Spring-MD
You can also google "chinese hwamei" to find plenty of Internet photos and videos of these birds singing in the wild and in cages.
Range and Introductions
This species is naturally distributed in southern China, Taiwan, Laos and Vietnam.
It has been introduced to Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and Hawaii. This species has been imported into Japan since the seventeenth century and it has been observed in the wild since the 1980s. This species was also introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1900s and to California in 1941 accidentally and purposely. In the Hawaiian Islands it was introduced in the early 20th century and now occurs in both native forest and man-made habitats. It is common on Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island but less so on Oahu and Molokai. The cause of disappearance in California is not known. While it failed to establish a population in California, it succeeded in naturalizing in the Hawaiian Islands, where it became the most common species below 1200 meters in elevation.
Captivity
The Hwamei is a popular cage bird in China and Southeast Asia and a large number of individuals have been exported from Hong Kong. As a song bird, the Hwamei can make beautiful songs with different melodies. This is why the Hwamei became a famous cage bird and is purchased as a pet by people. This species can be found on the web for sale, mostly from California sources. Prices seem to average around $1500. In the Hillandale area are several Buddhists temples and the release of animals, especially birds, is an element of the Buddhist culture; however, it is doubtful that the release of such an expensive pet would be intentional, but who knows?
Summary
Even though this bird was not chaseable, we wanted to spread the word so that people in this area could be alert for any unusual loud, melodious songs. I saw no North American records of Melodious Laughing-Thrush/Hwamei on eBird. I also did not find any matches on several of the local lost bird web pages.
===================================================
Phil Davis, Secretary
MD/DC Records Committee
2549 Vale Court
Davidsonville, Maryland 21035 USA
301-261-0184
mailto:PDa...@ix.netcom.com
MD/DCRC Web site:
http://www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html
===================================================
Phil Davis
Jun 12, 2017, 2:13:17 PM6/12/17
to MDbirding
I think I provides a URL that you cannot get to. Try this one
...
https://birdimages.smugmug.com/Melodious-LaughingThrush-in-Silver-Spring-MD/
https://birdimages.smugmug.com/Melodious-LaughingThrush-in-Silver-Spring-MD/
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