- Pellorneum pyrrogenys
Identification
15cm. A smallish, nondistinct babbler.
- Greyish-brown crown with pale shaft streaks
- Rufous-brown upperparts
- Rufescent brown lores, cheek and ear-coverts with pale shaft streaks
- Bright fulvous submoustachial area, breast side and breast
- White chin, throat and belly
Sexes similar, juveniles not described.
Distribution
Found on Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia) and Java (Indonesia).
Fairly common in parts of its range, eg. Mount Kinabalu National Park.
Taxonomy
Four subspecies recognized:
- P. p. canicapillus in north Borneo
- P. p. longstaffi in northwest Borneo
- P. p. erythrote in west Borneo
- P. p. pyrrogenys in Java
May form a superspecies with Buff-breasted Babbler and has been treated conspecific with it.
Habitat
Undergrowth of primary forest, also dense vegetation at edges of clearings. From the lowlands up to 1300m in Java, from 490 - 1550m in Borneo.
Behaviour
Feeds on insects and ants.
Keeps mainly to the undergrowth, foraging often hopping on the ground.
Breeding season December to April in Borneo. The nest is a compact cup. It's placed in the base of shrub, tussock or aerial roots. Lays 2 eggs.
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
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Temminck's Babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Temminck%27s_Babbler
