Part II The Laughing Thrushes also seemed to belong to the mummy Shanghai Museum (Berlioz, 1930), and (Garrulax species) class, but he was much more rugged. maintained ever since at the Natural Josef H. Lindholm, /II Very bald, he always wore a small History Museum in Paris (France's Fort Worth Zoological Park Greek cap and his high cheekbones, much older equivalent to our he appearance of living speci­ short nose and shaggy moustache Smithsonian Institution), remain the mens of GanuWxgalbanmin immediately suggested a jack-in-the­ only ones in any collection. Thus, T Europe in 1988 rekindled box. Brusque and rough, with no great efforts to conserve this species in ornithological interest in what had interest in his work, he had little Jiangxi are all the more important. been a rather obscure, if enigmatic patience with young zealots, and we In a September, 1996 communica­ species. It was first described by the were never very good friends. tion to Christopher Brown, Curator of British naturalist H.H.Godwin-Austen Trouessart [the head Curator] hated Birds 'at the Fort Worth Zoological in 1874, from specimens he collected him, and I always suspected that the Park, Roland Wirth discussed a survey in the remote Manipur Valley in north­ professor's pronounced friendship for in progress at Wuyuan, jointly funded eastern India in 1873 (Long, et ai, me was partly caused by Menegaux's by his Zoological Society for the 1994). Subsequent specimens were antagonism. I had marvellous fun in Conservation of Species and collected in Manipur by Godwin­ witnessing extraordinary scenes Populations, Stiftung Avifauna Protecta Austen in the 1890s, and, a couple of between these two curious men... not (another German nonprofit organiza­ other persons since then (Ibid, 1994). very inspiring to young naturalists.... tion), and the Oriental Bird Club: ''The In nearby Nagaland, the great They somehow disorganised for a time project aims to survey a whole range American ornithologist (and avicultur­ the study of mammals and birds in of 'mini-protected areas' in the district ist) Dillon Ripley collected study skins Paris... Fortunately Jacques Berlioz to record and map the birds and rare in 1950. replaced Menegaux soon after the plants... It is thought that these areas Other collectors from the 1890s to [First World] war, and the old traditions may contain the major remaining pop­ the 1950s gradually established that of the museum were happily carried ulations of courtoisi.. .". The field this species also occured in the Chin on again. French ornithology started researchers are three staffmembers of Hills of Myanmar (Burma) (not far anew and regained its importance." the Wuyuan Forestry Office and from Manipur), as well as the Indian In light of the above, given that the Reserve Management Office, while the states of Assam and Mizoram. In addi­ original description of Ganulax cour­ Project "Liason Person" and Project tion, there is a probable sight record toisi was made by Auguste Menegaux Supervisor is Dr. He Fen-qi of the from the republic of Bangladesh (Ibid, in 1923 (Long, et ai, 1994), it is scarce­ Institute of Zoology of the Academica 1994). From these records, it appeared ly surprising that Berlioz had doubts Sinica in Beijing (China's eqUivalent to that G. galbanm's remote and little about the type locality ofthis Laughing the Smithsonian). Wirth expects to studied range by and large conforms Thrush, and relegated it to subspecies hear some news shortly. to that of Blyth's Tragopan (Tragopan status. (Jean Delacour, who many Jacques Berlioz (1930), thinking it b. blythz), one of the last-discovered readers of this magazine do not need most unlikely that a bird known previ­ and least-known pheasants, and one to be reminded was one of the great­ ously from India and Burma should of the rarest in captivity. est ornithologists of all time, was great otherwise occur far to the Northeast in There was one glaring exception to friends with Jacques Berlioz-He Shansi, but considering the two Paris this generalization. In 1919 two speci­ described the Quangtri subspecies of specimens had come from the mens were collected very far to the the Silver Pheasant as Lophura nycthe­ Shanghai Museum, surmised that they east from the above localities, in mera berliozi in 1928). might have originated somewhere in Wuyuan, in China's Jiangxi (formerly As it turns out, GanuWx albanm South-east China. As it happens, aside Shansi) Province. These were original­ courtoisi does come from Jiangxi from Jiangxi, the only other known ly considered a new species, but in Province after all, a fact established in Chinese locality for Ganulaxgalbanm 1930, the great French ornithologist 1994, three quarters of a century after is in Yunan-the province in the far Jacques Berlioz not only lumped them Menegaux's specimens were collected. South-west corner of China. There, in under Ganulaxgalbanm, as the sub­ Funded by the Munich based Simao, three specimens were collected species G. galbanm courtoisi, but Zoological Society for the in March 1956. Two of these are now called into question their Jiangxi col­ Conservation of Species and at Wuhan University, in Central China. lection locality. Long, et al (994) states Populations (of which Roland Wirth is The third is in Beijing, at the that Berlioz gave no reason for doing Chairman and Founder), an expedition Academica Sinica. that. I believe one may gain some led by the ornithologists He Fen-qi and These three remain the only field­ insight from Jean Delacour's fond Zhang yi-sun to Wuyuan turned up "a collected museum specimens of the account of office politics at the specimen in a local house" and Yunan Yellow-bellied Laughing Department of Birds and Mammals at "People who knew it albeit uncom­ Thrush. (There has circulated the mis­ the Museum of Natural History in monly" (Long, et ai, 1994). conception that the Beijing specimen Paris, in pages 31-32 ofhis autobiogra­ However the two specimens was the only one in existence, but phy (Delacour, 1966). He relates: "The described by Menegaux, sent to him Long, et al (994) have clarified that sit­ assistant curator, Auguste Menegaux, by Father Courtoise, Director of the uation.) A scientific description of this afa WATCHBIRD 53 subspecies was not forthcoming for 26 arrived twenty Yellow-bellied breeding this bird in 1991. The 11 years. In 1982 it was described as Laughing Thrushes at the San Diego hatched that year arrived in May, June, Garrulax aalbanus simaoensis by Zoo. A month later six of these were July and August Ooanne Earnhardt, none other than Cheng Tso-hsin, the transferred to the San Diego Wild pers. comm.). Only one of those sur­ "Father of Modern Chinese Animal Park. vived more than a month. The nine Ornithology," and colleague Tang I am aware ofonly one other group hatched in 1992 (of which two sur­ RUiChang. of Yellow-bellied Laughing Thrushes vived) arrived in April, May, June, July, Making up for lost time (he was that arrived in the U.S. Between 29 and August. Again, only two survived imprisoned and kept from his ornitho­ November, 1990, and 28January, 1991, out of the six hatched at Lincoln Park logical work during the 15-20 years of the Lincoln Park Zoo, in Chicago, pur­ in 1993. These were in three clutches the "cultural revolution"), Dr. Cheng chased 10 birds, arriving in three con­ of two each, hatching in April, June, attended to unfinished business. This signments, from the Illinois firm Bird's and August. Breeding also took place included comparing the three 1956 Haven. It is uncertain whether other at Lincoln Park in 1996, but I am not Yunan-collected G. galbanus with the specimens were recieved by this com­ yet aware of the number. two 1919 Jiangxi specimens (in Paris), pany. I believe they were imported I am not aware of any published and the Indian specimens (at the directly from China (or perhaps Hong accounts of the San Diego or Lincoln British Museum, the Smithsonian, and Kong. At any rate, I don't believe they Park breedings, nor does anything the University ofMichigan). Birds from went through Europe). appear to have been written about the both the Chinese localities were at Breedings commenced at both the 1991 and 1994 hatchings at the once distinguished from the Indian San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park National' Avairy at Pittsburgh. Aside and Burmese Garrulax qalbanus qal­ in 1990 and continued inboth collec­ from these notes, the only published banus by the beautiful blue nape and tions for the next two years. discussion of an American zoo breed­ crown of the head ("greyish olive 1990 appears to be the year for the ing of this species, so far as I know, is green" in the Indian birds), as well as first captive breeding of this species. the brief account by Hope Bellino a bright "lemon yellow" (as opposed The Duisburg Zoo in Germany also (993), on the hatching of three speci­ to "maize yellow") throat (Long, et ai, was successful that year. First hatch­ mens at the Fort Worth Zoological Park 1994). On the other hand, the Yunan ings at the two San Diego collections on 11 and 12 May, 1993. The parents birds (G. q. simaoensis) differed from were almost exactly a week apart: on (an imported male, purchased from the Jiangxi birds (G. q. counoisi) in 17 April at the Zoo, and 25 April at the the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the only possessing "a broad yellowish-grey Wild Animal Park. Only a single bird 1991 Lincoln Park chick to survive to band across the chest, which is lacking hatched at the Park, but was fully adulthood) were at large, with another in G.