Nests, Eggs, And Nestling Behavior Of The Snowy-Cheeked Laughingthrush (Garrulax Sukatschewi) At Lianhuashan Natural Reserve, Gansu, China

We describe for the first time the characteristics of the nest sites, nests, eggs, and nestling behavior of the endemic Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush (Garrulax sukatschewi). During May and June 2002, at the Lianhuashan Natural Reserve in central China, we found five nests in coniferous forest at an elevation of 2,850 m. All nests, built by both members of a pair, were cup shaped and built 1.2-2.8 m above the ground in the branches of spruce (Picea spp.) trees or willow (Salix spp.) shrubs. The eggs were unspotted and greenish blue. We observed one brood of three nestlings. The parents fed the nestlings at a frequency of about 7.9 times/h +/- 2.8 SD, with the female performing 51.6% of the feedings. Both male and female adults removed the feces from the nest at a mean rate of 6.9 times/h.