Puff-throated babbler: Difference between revisions
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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[[File:Pellorneum ruficeps.jpg|thumb|left|]] |
[[File:Pellorneum ruficeps.jpg|thumb|left|Adult in Kaziranga National Park, possibly of ssp. ''mandelli'']] |
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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|author=Ali S & SD Ripley| year=1996 | edition=2 | title=Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6.| pages=114-122|publisher = Oxford University Press| place= New Delhi}}</ref> |
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|author=Ali S & SD Ripley| year=1996 | edition=2 | title=Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6.| pages=114-122|publisher = Oxford University Press| place= New Delhi}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 15:13, 17 September 2011
| Puff-throated Babbler | |
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_NandiHills_India_Aug_2008.jpg)
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| P. r. ruficeps (Nandi Hills, India) | |
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| Species: | P. ruficeps
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| Binomial name | |
| Pellorneum ruficeps Swainson, 1832
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The Puff-throated Babbler or Spotted Babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps) is a species of passerine found in Asia. They are found in scrub and moist 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. They however 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.
Description
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 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.[2]
The widespread distribution with population variations has led to nearly thirty subspecies being described.[3] 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.[4]
Distribution and habitat
This bird is a common resident breeder in the Himalayas and the forests of Asia. Like most babblers, it is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight. Its habitat is scrub and bamboo thickets and forages by turning over leaves to find insects.[2]
Behaviour and ecology
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 bush and is a dome of leaves and twigs with an entrance on the side. The opening usually pointing downhill when the nest is on slopy 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.[2][5]
References
- ^ Template:IUCN
- ^ a b c Ali S & SD Ripley (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 114–122.
- ^ Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. 1964. pp. 241–245.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|editors=ignored (|editor=suggested) (help) - ^ Jønsson, Knud A. & Fjeldså, Jon (2006). "A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri)". Zoologica Scripta. 35 (2): 149–186. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00221.x.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Whistler, Hugh. Popular Handbook of Indian Birds (4 ed.). London: Gurney and Jackson. pp. 53–54.