Palawan Striped-Babbler

Zosterornis hypogrammicus

A fairly small, localized bird of mid-elevation montane forest on Palawan. Medium-brown above and pale buffy below with heavy black streaks, especially on the chest. Note white throat, gray face, and pale rufous crown. Often found in mixed-species flocks. Somewhat similar to Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, but larger, with a white throat and a dark eye. Voice includes a downslurred nasal squeal and other varied calls.

Identification

EBird describes the bird as "A fairly small bird of mid-elevation montane forest on Panay. Dark brown above and heavily streaked with black below, with base color blending from white on the throat to buffy on the lower belly. Note the white face edged with black and the thin black stripe behind the eye. Often found in mixed-species flocks. Somewhat similar to Stripe-sided and Visayan Rhabdornises, but smaller, and lacks the broad black band through the eye. Voice includes a loud staccato trill." They are generally observed to forage close to the ground.<p>It is the most distinctive among the four striped babblers (others being the Luzon striped babbler, the Panay striped babbler and the Negros striped babbler), which are generally plain brown versus the Palawan striped babbler's olive yellow markings.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Zosterornis hypogrammicus
Authority
(Salomonsen, 1961)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Timaliidae
Genus
Zosterornis

Range and habitat

This species is known from primary montane mossy forest from 1,000 m to 2,000 m. It is only found on three mountains, namely Mount Mantalingajan, Mt. Victoria and Mt. Borangbato. <p>Due to its extremely limited range, IUCN has assessed this bird as least concern. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of logging, agricultural conversion and mining activities occurring within the range.

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

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Palawan Striped-Babbler | BirdLens