Deep in the subtropical forests of southeastern China lives a bird so elusive that for decades scientists believed it might be extinct: the Courtois’s Laughingthrush (Garrulax courtoisi), sometimes called Courtois’s Laughingbird.
This striking songbird wears a cloak of soft gray, with a black cap and a graceful white throat patch. But its most captivating feature is its voice—a melodious, almost laughing call that echoes through the trees, giving the species its name.
For years, this bird was known from only a handful of specimens collected in the 19th century. Then, in the late 1990s, researchers rediscovered small groups in Jixi County, Jiangxi Province, sparking excitement in the conservation world.
Sadly, the bird’s numbers are perilously low. Habitat loss from logging and agriculture, coupled with capture for the cage-bird trade, have left the global population at fewer than 300 individuals. That makes Courtois’s Laughingthrush one of the most endangered birds on Earth.
Conservation efforts are now underway: habitat protection, local education, and captive-breeding programs in Chinese zoos aim to secure a future for this rare songster. BirdLife International lists it as Critically Endangered.
To hear the Courtois’s Laughingthrush is to hear a piece of China’s natural heritage—an echo from the past that conservationists are fighting hard to keep alive.
