Adult Male
- Head: Fresh reddish-brown crown, nape with scattered black spots. A narrow black band across the forehead. Lower cheek and broad eyebrow black, the eyebrow near the nape with some white. Post-ocular region yellowish-brown. A reddish-brown streak with black spots below the eyebrow.
- Back: Greyish-brown. Each feather bordered in black with two or three diagonal black bars. Feathers on the flanks and upper tail with a central black stripe and narrow black borders.
- Tail: Central tail feathers greyish-brown mixed with black, lateral tail feathers brown with reddish-brown edges.
- Wings: Shoulder, wing coverts, and tertiary feathers with black edges and black and reddish-brown spots in the center. Primary and secondary feathers dark brown; the outermost feathers with thin reddish-brown edges and the terminal feathers edged with reddish-brown and brown.
- Underparts: Chin, throat, front and sides of the neck black, the neck with white stripes. A white stripe at the corner of the beak and another white stripe across the middle of the chest and neck. Breast grey, the middle of the belly white. Flanks and sides of the belly grey with a few white streaks or stripes in the center of the feathers and dark reddish-brown streaks on the inner vane. Under tail coverts white mixed with black.
- Eyes: Brown.
- Facial Skin: Bare skin around the eyes purplish-pink.
- Beak: Black.
- Legs: Pale pink, tinged with greyish-yellow on the rear surface.
Adult Female
- Head: Greyish-brown crown with black spots.
- Post-ocular region: Brown.
- Sides of head and flanks: Reddish-brown with black spots at the feather tips.
- Breast: A reddish patch on the upper chest; pale greyish-brown breast.
- Facial Skin: Bare skin around the eyes is similar to the male.
Measurements
- Wing (male): 145 – 460 mm, (female): 138 – 148 mm
- Tarsus: 43 mm
- Bill: 19 mm
Distribution
The Black-throated Laughingthrush has only been observed near Sapa (Lao Cai).