Laughingthrushes raise a smile
We are delighted to have recently welcomed a pair of Spotted Laughingthrushes from Paignton Zoo, making it three species of these striking birds now at Paradise Park.
Two species featured in this video clip here. Turn up the volume to hear their wonderful calls.
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush
Visitors love these birds’ outgoing personalities and can’t help but smile when they hear their laughing calls.
The most important in terms of conservation are the two pairs of Blue-crowned Laughingthrushes which are sadly categorised as Critically Endangered. Paradise Park participates in the EEP studbook for the species and we’ll be doing all we can to breed this species in 2024. They come from a small area in the Jiangxi Province in China but there are thought to be fewer than 250 in the wild. In 1998 an export ban stopped the trapping of this bird for the pet trade. However, the species has not received legal protection within China and faces threats to its habitat including road building and urban development. That’s why we’ll be doing all we can to keep a healthy, thriving captive population.
Spotted Laughingthrush
The recently arrived large Spotted Laughingthrush is a handsome bird with black and white spotted plumage and a dark cap and throat. As its ‘laughing’ name indicates, it has a distinctive call and, in this species, it is a loud and disjointed series of whistles.
White-crested Laughingthrush
Finally, the White-crested Laughingthrushes are active, social, and noisy birds and will occasionally burst into loud calls that sound just like laughter.”
Happily, two species have bred at Paradise Park in past years and we hope that the new Spotted Laughingthrushes might produce chicks this year so come along to hear their call and find out how they are progressing this season.
Paradise Park holds over 130 species of birds, many rare and endangered species which are part of vital conservation breeding programmes, including the Lear’s Macaw, the only place in the UK to see this endangered species.