NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sumatran Laughingthrush
Garrulax bicolor Hartlaub, 1844
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Sumatran laughingthrush (Garrulax bicolor), also known as the black-and-white laughingthrush, is a member of the family Leiothrichidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the white-crested laughingthrush (G. leucolophus), but unlike that species the plumage of the Sumatran laughingthrush is blackish-brown and white.
It is endemic to highland forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where it is threatened by habitat loss and capture for the domestic wildlife trade. Despite being protected in Indonesia, illegal trade continues, often carried out openly in bird markets on Sumatra and Java. As there appears to be an increase in international demand for this species, there have been calls for better international protection through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Wikipedia contributors, Sumatran laughingthrush; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:58:45.175709+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Garrulax bicolor Hartlaub, 1844
- Name authority
- Hartlaub, 1844
- Common name
- Sumatran Laughingthrush
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Garrulax
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyLeiothrichidae Swainson, 1832
- genusGarrulax R. P. Lesson, 1831
- speciesGarrulax bicolor Hartlaub, 1844
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Garrulax. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rufous-cheeked LaughingthrushGarrulax castanotis (Ogilvie-Grant, 1899) | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cambodian LaughingthrushGarrulax ferrarius Riley, 1930 | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-crested LaughingthrushGarrulax leucolophus (Hardwicke, 1816) | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey LaughingthrushGarrulax maesi (Oustalet, 1890) | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sunda LaughingthrushGarrulax palliatus (Bonaparte, 1850) | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-necked LaughingthrushGarrulax strepitans Blyth, 1855 | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taiwan HwameiGarrulax taewanus Swinhoe, 1859 | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous-fronted LaughingthrushGarrulax rufifrons R. P. Lesson, 1831 | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Spot-breasted LaughingthrushGarrulax merulinus Blyth, 1851 | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange-breasted LaughingthrushGarrulax annamensis (Robinson & Kloss, 1919) | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chinese HwameiGarrulax canorus (Linnaeus, 1758) | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-hooded LaughingthrushGarrulax milleti Robinson & Kloss, 1919 | LeiothrichidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Hartlaub, & Karel Johan Gustav. (1844). Systematisches Verzeichniss Der Naturhistorischen Sammlung Der Gesellschaft Museum, Vol. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3FBQJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.