Alternative names: Spotted Marsh Babbler; Marsh Spotted Babbler
- Pellorneum palustre
Identification
15cm. A rather small babbler with a long, strongly graduated tail.
- Uniformly dark brown above
- White spectacles
- Dull rufous-ochre on sides from lower ear-coverts to vent
- White throat (sometimes dark-speckled)
- White centre of belly
- Heavy dark brown streaks across breast and weaker long brown streaks on sides
- Rather long, dark bill
Sexes similar, juveniles undescribed.
Distribution
Found in northeast India (Assam and lower Arunachal Pradesh) and northeast Bangladesh.
Scarce and very local. Probably declining due to rapid loss of habitat as grassland is converted into farmland. Regularly seen in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Manas, Kaziranga National Park and Nameri National Parks.
Taxonomy
Monotypic.
Habitat
Grassland.
Reeds and coarse high grass bordering forest, swamps and rivers, elephant grass, savanna grassland, bushes, shrubs and low tree-junge. Found from lowlands up to 800m.
Behaviour
No information about diet, feeds probably on invertebrates.
Very skulking and difficult to see in dense tall grass.
Breeding season from February to May. The nest is reported as ball-shaped, similar to Puff-throated Babbler, made of grass and placed on ground or among grasses and roots. No information about clutch size.
Resident species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Marsh Babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Marsh_Babbler
