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ShrublandCup nestMedium · 63 g
ID tip
It is 21 to 25 cm long with broad, rounded wings and a fan-shaped tail. The plumage is mostly reddish-brown with dark streaks on the crown, back and throat. There is a white ring around the eye which extends backwards as a white stripe. The bill and feet are yellowish. Birds on Hainan Island (G. c. owstoni) are paler below and more olive-coloured above. The Taiwan hwamei is greyer and more streaked and lacks the white markings on the head. The song is a loud, clear, varied whistling with regular repetition and imitations of other birds. The call is a rasping whistle or rattle.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Chinese Hwamei
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Chinese Hwamei
The map shades 7 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
About the Chinese Hwamei
The Chinese hwamei or melodious laughingthrush is a passerine bird of eastern Asia in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. The name "hwamei" comes from its Chinese name huà méi, which means "painted eyebrow", referring to the distinctive marking around the bird's eyes. The species is a popular cagebird because of its attractive song.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
White-crested LaughingthrushGarrulax leucolophusVoice: White-crested laughingthrushes are social birds, usually in flocks of 6-12 individuals (but reportedly up to 40).
Taiwan HwameiGarrulax taewanusThe Taiwan hwamei is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae.
Lesser Necklaced LaughingthrushGarrulax monilegerThe lesser necklaced laughingthrush is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae.
Side by side: Chinese Hwamei vs White-crested Laughingthrush
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