SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 
149 
tions indicated both parents took turns incubating 
during the day, achieving constant coverage other 
than one absence of only 24 sec. Six on-nest bouts 
were 60, 71, >45, >50, <112, and <125 min, 
respectively. Only the marked bird (i.e., female) 
incubated at night (4 observations). 
Video recordings at one nest (86.8 total hrs) 
indicated both adults brooded the young in the day 
but not at night on days 9-18 of the nestling 
period. Diurnal activities ended at 1841 hrs ± 
10 min in 6 days. Length of on-nest bouts 
decreased slightly as nestlings grew larger, 
whereas length of off-nest bouts increased with 
means of 12.3 ± 0.9 min (2—65 min) and 18.8 ± 
1.8 min (1-133 min), respectively. Brooding 
attentiveness decreased from 57% (day 11) to 
21% (day 17), except for a sharp rise (58%) on 
day 14. Parents provisioned nestlings at a 
frequency increasing from 2.0 (day 11) to 6.0 
times/hr (day 16) and decreased to 0 times/hr (day 
18) with an overall average of 4.0 ± 0.2 times/hr 
(0-9 times/hr). Adults provisioned nestlings more 
intensively in the morning than in the afternoon, 
but with two peaks at 1200-1300 and 1700-1800 
hrs. Frequency of removing (or eating) feces from 
the nest averaged 1.5 ± 0.2 times/hr (0-4 times/ 
hr, n = 65). The two young fledged synchro¬ 
nously at 0713 hrs on day 18. 
DISCUSSION 
Nesting Phenology and Nests. —Egg-laying (7 
May-10 Jun) by Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrushes 
was similar to the Giant Babax ( Babax waddelli ) 
(Lu 2004). It was shorter than other common 
Garrulax species at similar latitudes, including 
Plain Laughingthrush (G. davidi) (late Apr-late 
Jul; Luo et al. 1992) and Brown-cheeked Laugh¬ 
ingthrush (G. henrici) (May-Aug; Lu et al. 2008). 
Nests of Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush were 
placed higher than those of other Garrulax species 
in low bushes (1.1-3.8 vs. 0.5-1.5 m) (Cheng et 
al- 1987, Ali and Ripley 1996, Lu et al. 2008). 
Nest sites were lower than those of Giant Laugh¬ 
ingthrush (C. maxima) (2.4-7.0 m), which were 
built in conifers (Wang et al. 2010). 
Nesting Success. —We observed partial loss of 
broods and unhatched eggs, possibly removed by 
parents but not predators. Similarly, the Chinese 
Hwamei (G. conorus) was reported to move eggs 
to a new nest when adults found people 
approaching the ongoing nest (Zhang 2002). 
Human predation of eggs or nestlings was not 
considered a threat, as local people were discour¬ 
aged from frequenting our study area because of 
research on other endemic birds. Possible preda¬ 
tors range from the diurnal Spotted Nutcracker 
(Nucifraga caryocatactes). Northern Goshawk 
(Accipiter gentilis ), and Siberian chipmunk ( Eu- 
tamias sibiricus) to the nocturnal leopard cat 
(Prionailurus bengalensis ), all of which are 
common in the study area. 
Social Unit and Breeding Density. —Snowy¬ 
cheeked Laughingthrushes were in pairs (78%) 
during the non-breeding seasons, and most groups 
(69%) appeared to be units of two pairs, as two 
birds each foraged close and moved in different 
directions when we approached, similar to the 
previous description “It was in pairs in both 
winter and summer’’ (Dresser and Morgan 
1899:271). 
The Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush has been 
described as “rare”, “fairly common’’, and 
“uncommon’’ (Collar et al. 2001). The shortest 
distance (55 m) between nests was greater than 
that of Elliot’s Laughingthrush (G. elliotii) (30 m, 
Li and Huang 1991; 35 m, Jiang et al. 2007). Ten 
active nests were found in an area of 1.2 km in 
2007 (17 birds/100 ha), suggesting the density of 
Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush is possibly mod¬ 
erate in the well-managed natural reserve. 
CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS 
Spruce rather than fir was highly selected as 
nest substrates (70 vs. 6%), even though both are 
dominant (513 ± 71 vs. 161 ± 42 trees/ha, Sun et 
al. 2007), possibly because firs mainly occur 
inside coniferous forest, where the birds seldom 
nest. Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrushes preferred 
to nest in spruce and forage in mixed deciduous- 
coniferous forest, indicating the presence of 
spruce with abundant shrubs may be essential 
habitat requirements and the importance of 
protecting alpine scrub vegetation adjacent to 
and within the coniferous forest. 
The birds at Lianhuashan were restricted to 
narrower altitudes (2,400—3,200 m) than has been 
reported by others (2,000-3,500 m; Stattersfield et 
al. 1998), possibly due to previous logging and 
conversion of forest to croplands. The forest in the 
Lianhuashan Mountains is highly fragmented and 
77% of forest patches are smaller than 10 ha due 
to logging over the past 30—40 years (Sun et al. 
2006). Arrow bamboo ( Sinarundinaria nitida) 
clumps within the coniferous and coniferous- 
deciduous forests were nearly clear-cut by local 
people. The short breeding season, the degraded 
