Puff-throated babbler: Difference between revisions

| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{IUCNcite iucn |idauthor=22715859BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Pellorneum ruficeps'' |assessorvolume=BirdLife International2016 |assessor-linkpage=BirdLife Internationale.T22715859A94471991 |versiondoi=201310.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22715859A94471991.2en |year=2012 |accessdateaccess-date=2612 November 20132021}}</ref>

The '''puff-throated babbler''' or '''spotted babbler''' ('''''Pellorneum ruficeps''''') is a species of [[passerine]] bird found in Asia. They are found in scrub and <i>moist</i> forest mainly in hilly regions. They forage in small groups on the forest floor, turning around [[leaf litter]] to find their prey and usually staying low in the undergrowth where they can be hard to spot. TheyHowever, howeverthey have loud and distinct calls, including a morning song, contact and alarm calls. It is the [[type species]] of the [[genus]] ''Pellorneum'' which may, however, currently include multiple lineages.

Puff-throated babblers are brown above, and white below with heavily brown streaks towards the breast and belly. They have a chestnut crown, long buff supercilium and dusky cheeks. The throat is white, and is sometimes puffed out giving it the [[English language|English]] name. Puff-throated babblers have strong legs, and spend a lot of time on the forest floor. They can often be seen creeping through undergrowth in search of their insect food, looking at first glance like a [[song thrush]]. Some subspecies have streaks on the mantle while others, especially in Peninsular India, are unstreaked.<ref name=hbk>{{cite book|author1=Ali, Salim |author2=S.D. Ripley |lastauthorampname-list-style=yesamp | year=1996 | edition=2nd | title=Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6.| pages=114–122|publisher = Oxford University Press| place= New Delhi}}</ref>

The widespread distribution with population variations has led to nearly thirty subspecies being described. The nominate population is found in peninsular India (excluding the Western Ghats). The population in the northern Eastern Ghats is paler and has been called as ''pallidum'' while a well -marked dark form occurs in the southern Western Ghats, which has been named ''granti'' (includes ''olivaceum''). The western Himalayas population is ''punctatum'' (includes ''jonesi'') and in the east is ''mandellii'', which has streaking on the back and nape apartas fromwell as having call differences. In the east of India, south of the Brahmaputra River occurs ''chamelum'' while ''ripley'' is found in a small region in eastern Assam (Margherita). Further east in Manipur is ''vocale'' and ''pectorale'' in Arunachal Pradesh and northern Burma with ''stageri'' further south, followed by ''hilarum'', ''victoriae'' and ''minus''. Further east are found ''shanense'', ''subochraceum'', ''insularum'', ''indistinctum'', ''chtonium'', ''elbeli'', ''acrum'', ''oreum'', ''dusiti'', ''vividum'', ''ubonense'', ''euroum'', ''deignani'', ''dilloni'' and ''smithi''. Several others have been described and many populations are difficult to assign to subspecies.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/checklistofbirds101964pete#page/240/mode/1up/|pages=241–245| title=Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 10| year=1964|editor=Mayr E|editor2=R A Paynter Jr|publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology| place=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref> This is the type species for the genus ''Pellorneum'' and its generic placement is assured, although other species currently included in the genus may be reassigned.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Jønsson, Knud A. |author2=Fjeldså, Jon |lastauthorampname-list-style=yesamp |year=2006 |title= A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri)| journal= Zoologica Scripta| volume= 35| issue=2| pages=149–186| doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00221.x|s2cid=85317440 }}</ref><ref name=pcr>{{cite book|pages=425–426| title=Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2| publisher=Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions| place= Washington DC and Barcelona|author1=Rasmussen PC |author2=JC Anderton |lastauthorampname-list-style=yesamp |year=2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/stream/faunaofbritishin01bake#page/238/mode/1up/|pages=238–242|title=Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1|edition= 2nd |author=Baker, ECS| year=1922| publisher=Taylor and Francis| place=London}}</ref>

This bird is a common resident breeder in the [[Himalayas]] and the forests of Asia. Like most babblers, it is not [[bird migration|migratory]], and has short rounded wings and a weak flight. Its habitat is scrub and [[bamboo]] thickets and it forages by turning over leaves to find insects.<ref name=hbk/>

Puff-throated babblers vocalize often. Their calls are a series of whistling notes ascending in scale. Some calls have been transcribed as ''he'll beat you, pret-ty-sweet''. The calling can be persistent. The breeding season is mainly during the rainy season. They build a nest on the ground at the base of a bush. andThe nest is a dome-shaped and constructed of leaves and twigs with an entrance on the side. The opening usually points downhill when the nest is on sloping ground. The clutch varies from 2 to 5 eggs, with northern populations tending towards larger clutches. Parent birds run rodent-like in the undergrowth as they move in and out of the nest. Young birds fledge and leave the nest about 12 to 13 days after hatching.<ref name=hbk/><ref>{{cite book| url= https://archive.org/stream/popularhandbooko033226mbp#page/n87/mode/1up| pages=53–54|title= Popular Handbook of Indian Birds. |edition=4th|publisher = Gurney and Jackson| place=London| author=Whistler, Hugh}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The nest of the Yellow-browed Bulbul (Iole icterica) and the Spotted Babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps)|author= Betham R M |year=1903|pages=346–347|url=https://archive.org/stream/journalofbombayn15bomb#page/346/mode/1up/| journal= J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume=15| issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= The nests and eggs of Indian Birds. Volume 1|author=Hume AO| editor=Oates, EW|edition=2nd |year= 1889| publisher=R H Porter|place= London|page=100| url=https://archive.org/stream/nestseggsofindia01humerich#page/100/mode/1up/}}</ref>

[[Category:Birds of Southeast AsiaIndochina]]