Dusky Babbler
Turdoides tenebrosa
A very dark babbler with a pale eye. Found very locally in areas of moist woodland with thick undergrowth, almost always in small groups that feed by hopping across the ground. Much more elusive and skulking than most babblers. Similar to Black-lored Babbler, but Dusky Babbler is much darker, and there is virtually no overlap in range. Usually located by the raspy babbling call, typically given by a whole group in chorus.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Turdoides tenebrosa
- Authority
- (Hartlaub, 1883)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Turdoides
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Greater Prairie-Chicken
Tympanuchus cupido
Plump, chickenlike bird found in grasslands. Body and wings entirely barred brown with paler buffy throat. In spring, males gather at display site and dance to attract females: look for them hunched over with earlike feathers protruding from the head and yellowish-orange skin exposed on the neck. Inconspicuous and difficult to find away from display sites. Separate from Lesser Prairie-Chicken by range; averages slightly darker and larger than Lesser. Darker than Sharp-tailed Grouse with more heavily barred sides and belly; rounded tail.
Solitary Tinamou
Tinamus solitarius
Large, dumpy, almost tailless terrestrial inhabitant of the Atlantic Forest, where it walks quietly through forests with an open understory. This tinamou has a gray-brown barred back and vent, pale gray on the belly with a prominent pale stripe on the side of the neck. Very secretive, best identified by song, a series of “frru” whistles with long silences between them.
Kashmir Nuthatch
Sitta cashmirensis
Unremarkable-looking nuthatch with a highly restricted range. Found in hill and montane forests; favors coniferous-dominated forest types. Slaty-gray with dark “extended mask” stripe and buffy-orange underparts (paler in female). Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch can be similar; note Kashmir’s pale throat, paler underparts, and unbarred vent in all plumages. Calls include a tortured-sounding nasal scream.
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