Thai National Parks

Species of Thailand

Silver-eared mesia

Leiothrix argentauris

Brian Houghton Hodgson, 1837

In Thai: นกกะรองทองแก้มขาว

The silver-eared mesia (Leiothrix argentauris) is a species of bird from South East Asia.

Taxonomy and distribution

The species was once placed in the large Old World babbler family Timaliidae, but that family has recently been split with this species being placed with the laughingthrushes in the new family Leiothrichidae.

The species is sometimes placed in its own genus Mesia, or in the genus Leiothrix with the red-billed leiothrix. There are seven described subspecies, with considerable variation in plumage between them. Further research is needed to establish if this represents a single species or not.

The subspecies and their distributions are:

  • M argentauris argentauris (Hodgson, 1837) - Northern and eastern India, Bhutan, northern Burma and southern China.
  • M argentauris galbana (Mayr & Greenway, 1938) - Southern Burma and northern Thailand
  • M argentauris ricketti (La Touche, 1923) - China (Yunnan, Guixhou & Guangxi), and northern Laos and Vietnam.
  • M argentauris cunhaci (Robinson & Kloss, 1919) - Southern Laos & Vietnam, Cambodia.
  • M argentauris tahanensis (Yen Kwokyung, 1934) - Southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.
  • M argentauris rookmakeri (Junge, 1948) - Northern Sumatra.
  • M argentauris laurinae (Salvadori, 1879) - Southern Sumatra.

The species is generally resident although it has been reported as a winter migrant to Nameri National Park in Assam, India, which implies that the species may be an altitudinal migrant. The species has been introduced to Hong Kong from captive stock derived from caged birds.

Diet

The diet of the silver-eared mesia is dominated by insects and their larvae, as well as fruit and to a lesser extent seeds. A study of the diet of feral birds in Hong Kong found that 87% of the faecal samples studied had the remains on insects in them, and 97% had the remains of fruit. The species will often associate in large groups of up to thirty individuals while foraging, and even forms groups during the breeding season. They will also join large flocks of other species in the forest, known as waves, which include other species of babblers. They generally feed closer to the ground, but may go as high as 5 metres up into the canopy.

Breeding

The silver-eared mesia is a seasonal breeder, with the season lasting from November to August, although the season starts later, in April, in the northern part of its range. Both the male and female are involved in building the nest, a deep cup of bamboo and other dead leaves lined with rootlets and fern fibres. The nest takes about four days to construct and is placed near ground level or up to 2m up in a bush. Underlying its relationship with the red-billed leiothrix the nest is said to be indistinguishable from the one of that species.

The eggs of silver-eared mesia are white with light but rich madder-brown spots. Between two and five eggs are laid in a typical clutch, with four being the typical number in India but two or three more common in Malaysia. Both parents incubate the eggs, with (at least in captivity) the female incubating the eggs during the night. The eggs are incubated for 13 to 14 days after the laying of the first egg. Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge after 12 days, and parental care lasts for a further 22 days after fledging.

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Category / Seasonal Status

BCST Category: Recorded in an apparently wild state within the last 50 years

BCST Seasonal status: Resident or presumed resident

Scientific classification

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Leiothrichidae
Genus
Leiothrix
Species
Leiothrix argentauris

Common names

  • Thai: นกกะรองทองแก้มขาว

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN3.1)

Least Concern (IUCN3.1)

Photos

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Silver-eared mesia
Silver-eared mesia
Silver-eared mesia
Silver-eared mesia
Silver-eared mesia

Range Map

Distribution map of Silver-eared mesia, Leiothrix argentauris in Thailand
  • Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Doi Inthanon National Park
  • Doi Lang
  • Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park
  • Doi Phu Kha National Park
  • Doi Suthep - Pui National Park
  • Huai Nam Dang National Park
  • Kaeng Krachan National Park
  • Khao Luang National Park
  • Mae Fa Luang District, Chiang Rai
  • Mae Wong National Park
  • Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai
  • Nam Nao National Park
  • Pha Daeng National Park
  • Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park
  • Phu Kradueng National Park
  • Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary
Range map of Leiothrix argentauris in Thailand