India GO
Bird · Montecincla cachinnans
Nilgiri laughingthrush (Nilgiri chilappan)
IUCN EN · Endangered
A brown laughingthrush with a bold white eyebrow, found only in the Nilgiris and the ranges immediately adjoining, above about 1,200 m.
How to recognise it
Heard long before seen: a loud, rollicking, nasal chorus from dense scrub, several birds at once. Then a brown bird with a white eyebrow hops across a gap and vanishes.
Protection
Since the 2017 genus split, assessments have put it anywhere between Endangered and Near Threatened.
Where to see it
Ooty & Coonoor
At Doddabetta the birds are used to people and forage close to the busy areas, which makes this one of the most approachable Western Ghats endemics anywhere. It lives inside Ooty, Coonoor and Kotagiri town limits, in gardens and orchards.
Government Botanical Garden · Sim's Park Coonoor · Doddabetta Peak