Abstract
We describe the nest sites, nests, eggs, and incubation and provisioning behavior of the endemic Giant Laughingthrush (Garrulax maximus) in a coniferous forest (2,850–2,950 m asl) at Lianhuashan, southern Gansu, central China. We found seven shallow bowl-shaped nests in Picea-Abies trees, 4.0 ± 1.5 m (x¯ ± SD, n = 7) above the ground during May and June 2003, 2007, and 2008. Clutch size was 2.2 ± 0.4 unspotted blue eggs (2–3, n = 6) of which 1.4 ± 0.5 nestlings hatched (1–2, n = 7), and 1.0 ± 1.0 young fledged (0–2, n = 7). Three nests failed, possibly due to predation or abandonment during prolonged rainfall. Both males and females incubated clutches; nest attentiveness during the day decreased from 92.6 ± 0.9% before hatching to 59.4 ± 1.5% during days 3–7 of the nestling period. Both parents fed the nestlings (1.0 ± 1.0 times/hr) and consumed the feces (0.3 ± 0.5 times/hr) during the 7–15 days after hatching