The laughingthrushes are a large family of Old World passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage.

Like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and the characteristic laughing calls are often the best indication that they are present, since they are often difficult to see in their preferred habitat.

Its habitat is rainforest, and it is seldom seen away from deep jungle or dense bamboo thickets in the wet zone.

Although its habitat is under threat, this laughingthrush occurs in all the forests of the wet zone, and is quite common at prime sites like Kitulgala and Sinharaja.

As with other babbler species, ashy-headed laughingthrushes frequently occur in groups of up to a dozen, and are also often found in the mixed feeding flocks typical of tropical Asian jungle.