Alternative names: Sudan Babbler; Sudan Brown Babbler
- Turdoides plebejus
Identification
22 - 25cm (8¾-9¾ in) a medium-sized Turdoides-babbler:
- Greyish-brown plumage
- Black bill
- Streaky crown
- White-chevroned throat and breast
Similar species
Arrow-marked Babbler is very similar but ranges overlap only in a small area around Uganda. Note the difference in the form of streaking on throat and breast and dark lores of Arrow-marked Babbler.
Distribution
Subsaharan Africa from Senegal and Mauritania east to Sudan, south-west Ethiopia and Kenya, reaching Uganda as southern limit of distribution.
Taxonomy
Has been considered conspecific with Arrow-marked Babbler and form a superspecies with the former and White-rumped Babbler.
Subspecies
Three subspecies recognized:
- T. p. platycirca from Mauritania and Senegal east to Mali, Niger and western Nigeria
- T. p. plebejus from north-east Nigeria to Sudan
- T. p. cinerea from south-eastern Nigeria to South Sudan, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, south-western Ethiopia, Uganda, and western Kenya
Habitat
Forest and bush land, 600-1500m, reaches 2300m in western Kenya.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds mainly on insects (ants, beetles, mantids, termites and larvae) but takes also beeswax, berries and fruit like mangoes. An opportunistic species which takes meat from carcases hung up in meat sheds.
Forages on the ground and in bushes, usually keeping close to cover. Moves in family groups of 6 to 8 birds. Noisy but also retiring and skulky. Often in mixed species flocks, mainly with Rufous Chatterer in east of range.
Breeding
Breeding season differs in range, may breed year-round. The nest is a cup made of rootlets, grasses, straw and leaves. It's placed in a bush or a small tree. Lays 2 - 4 eggs.
References
- 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
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Brown Babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown_Babbler
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
