Common Babbler
Argya caudata
Faintly streaked warm buffy-brown babbler. Dark eyes and and pale throat separate this species from the similar Striated Babbler. A common and familiar city and town bird throughout much of its range; A bird of scrubby plains, open forests, forest edges, and overgrown cultivation. Whickers, trills, squeaks, and chirps loudly as flocks hop about on the ground and in low undergrowth.
Identification
This small, slim babbler with a long tail is buff to grey above with dark streaks. The underside is unstreaked and paler, the throat being nearly whitish.<p>The species was originally described as Crateropus caudatus before it was moved to the genus Argya and still later to Turdoides. The species ending was, however, retained in these new combinations but the corrected feminine form caudata matches the Latin gender of the genus Turdoides.<p>The common babbler group includes eclipes (Hume, 1877) from northern Pakistan to northwestern India and nominate caudata ( Dumont de Sainte Croix, 1823) in southern Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and India (including the Lakshadweep Islands).
Taxonomy
The common babbler was formerly placed in the genus Turdoides but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Argya.
- Scientific name
- Argya caudata
- Authority
- (Dumont, 1823)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Argya
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Like most other babblers, the common babbler is found in small parties of six to twenty. They are vociferous, moving on the ground often with members keeping watch from the tops of bushes. They forage through the undergrowth hopping on the ground and creeping like rodents. When moving on the ground, they often keep the long tail raised. The calls include a rapid trill which-which-whichi-ri-ri-ri-ri while the alarm consists of a high pitched squeak. They are found mainly in dry regions with sparse and low thorny scrub vegetation. They feed on insects, berries and grains. Favourite berries include those of the Lantana and Capparis.<p>Several breeding pairs may be found within a group. Adults will often indulge in preening the head and neck feathers of other group members. The nesting season in India is in summer (May to July) with two peaks broken by a gap during the rains. They build a shallow cup nest low in a thorny bush and lay about 2-3 turquoise blue eggs. In northern India, they have been found to use heaps of lopped up Zizyphus for nesting. The eggs hatch after about 13–15 days. Broods may be parasitized by the Jacobin cuckoo and the common hawk-cuckoo. The young birds are able to fly after about a week and continue to stay with the group, joining the adults at the roost. Helpers, possibly young birds from the previous brood may assist the parents, feeding the brooding females and the young birds. The feeding bird often hops after delivering food calls with a low trill and shivers its feathers. The gape of young birds is yellow and the iris colour changes from hazel to dark brown. They roost communally. The cooperative breeding structure is thought to be formed by groups of males with a shared lineage with the females moving out of their natal groups.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
Svelte with a long, pointed tail. Plain brown overall with dark spots on wing. Juvenile is covered with pale scaly pattern, but is much larger and longer-tailed than ground doves. Widespread and common throughout much of North America, from southern Canada to Panama, including the Caribbean. Found in a variety of habitats from agricultural fields to lightly wooded areas. Loves suburbs, where it often sits on telephone wires and visits bird feeders. Avoids dense forest, but found on forest edges. Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, sometimes gathering in larger numbers, especially in winter. Listen for distinctive cooing song and whistling wings as it takes off.
Fire-bellied Woodpecker
Chloropicus pyrrhogaster
A large, long-billed woodpecker with an olive back, a red rump, a bold facial pattern, and heavily marked underparts with a bright red central belly stripe. The crown and back of the head are black in the female and red in males. Forages alone or in pairs, preferring dead tree trunks where it can excavate for beetle larvae and other insects in lowland rainforest, gallery forest, and plantations. Calls include a sharp “kwip,” a series of similar notes, and a fast whinnying call. Also gives a distinctive drum that lasts about 2 seconds, beginning fast and then slowing. Similar to Bearded and Yellow-crested Woodpeckers, but there is very little overlap in range, and those species lack the red belly patch.
Island Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula pistrinaria
A large, long-necked pigeon, more uniformly gray than other imperial-pigeons in the region. Overall very pale, with a dark blue tail, a pinkish wash to throat and chest, and a gray back and wings. Birds in the Admiralty Islands have green wings and back. Relatively coastal, preferring smaller islands. Perches conspicuously in the open. Similar to Pacific Imperial-Pigeon, but overall paler. Birds on the Admiralty Islands differ from juvenile Red-knobbed Imperial-Pigeon in their gray, not cinnamon, belly and underside. Normally heard giving a high-pitched “ahu ahu ahu ahu” call, falling in pitch and volume.
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