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Description
The white-crested laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) is a member of the family Leiothrichidae. It is a highly social and vocal bird found in forest and scrub from the Himalayan foothills to Southeast Asia. G. leucolophus has one of the widest ranges of all laughingthrushes and as such is at minimal risk of being threatened by extinction. It is native to the following countries: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. The four subspecies have slightly different distributions:
leucolophus: N India, Nepal, Bhutan, S China (Tibet); patkaicus: NE India, Bengladesh, Myanmar, S China (Yunnan); belangeri: Myanmar, Thailand; diardi: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, S China (Yunnan)
G. leucolophus is commonly found in foothill forests, up to elevations of 1600m. It favours dense, moist and shady thickets and scrubs, and the edge and understory of broadleaved secondary forests, where it can hide from predators and take shelter from the subtropical sun. It will typically only come out of cover to feed on the ground. The ideal habitat of the white-crested also includes bamboos, which provide excellent nesting substrate and camouflage. Similarly to other laughingthrushes, G. leucolophus is omnivorous and opportunistic. It subsists mostly on invertebrates such as beetles, spiders, flies, mealworms and caterpillars, snails and leeches. However, it also eats fruits, seeds, nectar, and even small reptiles and amphibians (snakes, lizards and frogs). In Singapore, observers have noticed individuals picking at human food and garbage.
White-crested laughingthrushes start reproducing in their second year. They breed several times between February to September. Nests are shallow and cup-shaped, in shrubs and trees at heights between 2-6m, made with bamboo leaves and grass bound with twigs and stems. In each nest are laid 2-6 pure white eggs, estimated at 6.5 g each, which are incubated for 13–17 days by both parents. The male and female also share brooding and feeding duties while the chicks develop from completely naked to miniature adults in the 14–16 days after hatching. These tasks are not distributed just between the parents, however — White-crested laughingthrushes are cooperative breeders. A female may share a nest with another, and 3 or more adults may take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks. In fact, these "helpers" are not always adults: young from the current year's previous clutch sometimes help with building the nest or feeding their siblings.

Description
The white-crested laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) is a member of the family Leiothrichidae. It is a highly social and vocal bird found in forest and scrub from the Himalayan foothills to Southeast Asia. G. leucolophus has one of the widest ranges of all laughingthrushes and as such is at minimal risk of being threatened by extinction. It is native to the following countries: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. The four subspecies have slightly different distributions:
leucolophus: N India, Nepal, Bhutan, S China (Tibet); patkaicus: NE India, Bengladesh, Myanmar, S China (Yunnan); belangeri: Myanmar, Thailand; diardi: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, S China (Yunnan)
G. leucolophus is commonly found in foothill forests, up to elevations of 1600m. It favours dense, moist and shady thickets and scrubs, and the edge and understory of broadleaved secondary forests, where it can hide from predators and take shelter from the subtropical sun. It will typically only come out of cover to feed on the ground. The ideal habitat of the white-crested also includes bamboos, which provide excellent nesting substrate and camouflage. Similarly to other laughingthrushes, G. leucolophus is omnivorous and opportunistic. It subsists mostly on invertebrates such as beetles, spiders, flies, mealworms and caterpillars, snails and leeches. However, it also eats fruits, seeds, nectar, and even small reptiles and amphibians (snakes, lizards and frogs). In Singapore, observers have noticed individuals picking at human food and garbage.
White-crested laughingthrushes start reproducing in their second year. They breed several times between February to September. Nests are shallow and cup-shaped, in shrubs and trees at heights between 2-6m, made with bamboo leaves and grass bound with twigs and stems. In each nest are laid 2-6 pure white eggs, estimated at 6.5 g each, which are incubated for 13–17 days by both parents. The male and female also share brooding and feeding duties while the chicks develop from completely naked to miniature adults in the 14–16 days after hatching. These tasks are not distributed just between the parents, however — White-crested laughingthrushes are cooperative breeders. A female may share a nest with another, and 3 or more adults may take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks. In fact, these "helpers" are not always adults: young from the current year's previous clutch sometimes help with building the nest or feeding their siblings.