White-speckled laughingthrush explained

The white-speckled laughingthrush (Ianthocincla bieti) is a species of passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to China. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

The white-speckled laughingthrush was at one time placed in the genus Garrulax but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Ianthocincla.^{[1] [2]} The specific name commemorates the French missionary to China Félix Biet.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Cibois . A. . Gelang . M. . Alström . P. . Pasquet . E. . Fjeldså . J. . Ericson . P.G.P. . Olsson . U. . 2018 . Comprehensive phylogeny of the laughingthrushes and allies (Aves, Leiothrichidae) and a proposal for a revised taxonomy . Zoologica Scripta . 47 . 4 . 428–440 . 10.1111/zsc.12296 . 51883434 .
2. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2019 . Laughingthrushes and allies . World Bird List Version 9.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 18 January 2019 .
3. Web site: Jobling . J.A. . 2018 . Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology . del Hoyo . J. . Elliott . A. . Sargatal . J. . Christie . D.A. . de Juana . E. . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions . 18 January 2019 .