SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 
147 
breast height (DBH) of supporting plants (if >2 
tree species, all species were recorded), height of 
the nest above ground, and distance between the 
nest and the stem of supporting plant. Slope 
exposure and orientation of the nest relative to the 
stem of supporting plant were recorded in 45 
octants. The surrounding cover was estimated as 
the average proportion of the nest camouflaged 
when viewed from three different sides at a 
distance of 5 m. Overhead cover was estimated as 
cover that prevented light penetration, in 10% 
intervals. Locations of nests and inter-nest 
distances were ascertained with a global position¬ 
ing system (GPS) (Garmin eTrex Legend® HCx, 
Olathe, KS, USA). 
Habitat structure in a 10 X 10 m plot with each 
nest site or site where laughingthrushes occurred 
as the center was also measured. Vegetation type 
was classified as coniferous forest, mixed conif¬ 
erous-deciduous forest, deciduous forest, or 
shrubs. Cover (amount of sky obscured), and the 
numbers of conifers and shrubs with a DBH of 
>3 cm were also recorded. We made similar 
measurements to assess the preference of nesting 
habitats at 38 available sites within 19 territories 
(2 sites per territory) for comparison. 
We took measurements of the eggs and 
nestlings, once a nest was located, and monitored 
the nest every 2-4 days, or 1-2 days at critical 
times, to ascertain laying date, length of incuba¬ 
tion, time to fledging, nestling growth, fledging 
success, and incidence of nest predation. Laying 
dates were calculated by backdating for nests 
located when incubation had already begun or 
nestlings had hatched, using reproductive param¬ 
eters obtained from clutches for which complete 
data were obtained. 
Incubation or brooding behavior was docu¬ 
mented by occasional observations at four nests 
from a blind to reduce disturbance. Parental 
behaviors at one nest (containing 2 nestlings) 
were recorded during days 9-18 after hatching 
with an infrared video camera placed 0.5 m 
above the nest. One bird was caught in a mist net 
20 m from the nest and marked with red lacquer 
s P0ts at the end of the tail to check whether both 
parents (morphologically indistinguishable) incu¬ 
bate or brood at night. Blood (200 pL) was taken 
for amplification of the CHD gene using the 
universal P2/P8 primers to ascertain gender 
(Griffiths et al. 1998). Data from all years were 
pooled for analysis using SPSS 13.0 for Windows 
(SPSS Inc. 2004). The percent values were 
arcsine transformed for f-tests and all tests were 
two-tailed. Values are given as mean ± SE. 
RESULTS 
Habitat Use and Social Behavior— Singles, 
pairs, and groups of Snowy-cheeked Laughing- 
thrushes accounted, respectively, for 10, 78, and 
12% of observations (n = 132) in the non¬ 
breeding season (Sep-Apr). The corresponding 
figures were 75, 24, and 1% {n = 120) for the 
breeding season (May—Jun). The mean size of 
groups was 4.0 ± 0.2 (3-6) in the non-breeding 
season, and most groups (69%) included four 
individuals. Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrushes 
occurred in mixed deciduous-coniferous forests 
(88%), shrublands (9%), and coniferous forests 
(3%) at elevations of 2,400-3,200 m during all 
observations (n = 252). They seldom foraged in 
the abundant areas of moss and fallen needles 
under pure conifer stands, and were absent at 
higher elevations (3,200-3,560 m), dominated by 
dwarf willows and barberries, and absent at lower 
elevations (2,100-2,400 m) where crops, low 
shrubs, and human dwellings predominated. 
Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrushes appeared to 
be territorial in late April and May. Calls of one 
pair usually resulted in three to five neighboring 
pairs calling simultaneously (30 occasions). 
Playback of calls also initiated calling and/or 
approaches by 1-2 neighboring pairs to the 
speaker (7 of 20 occasions at 10 territory 
boundaries). Two pairs were observed chasing 
each other on the ground and performing a series 
of rapid pivoting and ducking movements from 
side to side while calling harshly in mid May (2 
occasions), seemingly to defend territories. Dis¬ 
tances between the closest nests (found in 2007) 
averaged 100 — 30 m (55—250 m, n — 10). 
Nest Cycle: Days in Each Period .—Our earliest 
observation of nest building was on 3 May (2008) 
and the latest known fledging date was 13 July 
(2005) with an overall breeding season of 
~72 days. Nest building lasted ~8 days (1 nest). 
There was a lull of 9 ± 1 day (7-12, n = 5) after 
nest completion. Onset of laying extended from 7 
May (2008) to 10 June (2005) with a peak in late 
May. One unspotted greenish-blue egg was laid 
per day (n = 8 eggs in 2 sufficiently monitored 
nests). Scattered observations at four nests 
indicated continuous incubation started after 
laying of the last egg. 
All nestlings hatched in the same day (n = 2 
nests) after 14 days of incubation (n = 1 nest), 
