Streaked Wren-Babbler - BirdForum Opus

subspecies leucosticta
Photo © by Rachael Smith
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, March 2008

Photo © by the late Laurence Poh
Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia

Alternative names: Short-tailed Wren-Babbler; Streak-throated Wren-Babbler

Turdinus brevicaudatus

Napothera brevicaudata

Identification

12 - 17cm. A smallish, short-tailed babbler:

• Grey-brown above with coarse blackish scales
• Whitish shaft-streaks on crown
• Pale grey face (no supercilium)
• Broad grey-brown streaks on white throat and upper breast
• Unmarked rusty-tinged lower underparts

Females are more rufous, juveniles are uniform dark brown.
The different subspecies differ in colour tones, the nominate having rufous underparts, others like stevensi or leucosticta more greyish-brown (see taxonomy).

Distribution

Found from northeast India to Burma, south China (Yunnan to Guangxi), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and peninsular Malaysia.
Locally fairly common.

Taxonomy

Seven subspecies which fall into two groups:

• With dull rufous underparts:
  • T. b. striatus in northeast India and nortwest Burma
  • T. b. brevicaudatus in south China (Yunnan), parts of Burma, Thailand and northwest Laos
  • T. b. rufivventer in southern Annam (northern Vietnam)
• With browner underparts and less contrasting streaks:
  • T. b. proximus in south Laos and central Vietnam
  • T. b. stevensi in south China (Yunnan to Guangxi), parts of Laos and north Vietnam
  • T. b. griseigularis in southeast Thailand and southwest Cambodia
  • T. b. leucostictus in south Thailand and peninsular Malaysia

Has been thought to be conspecific with Mountain Wren-Babbler or to form a superspecies with it.
Sometimes placed in genus Napothera.

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest. Often seen near rocky outcrops. Found at 300 - 2100m in India, above 610m in Malaysia and up to 1830m in rest of range.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects, grubs and small molluscs.
Usually seen in pairs or small groups. Difficult to see as it forages near the ground in dense vegetation or around rocks and boulders.
Breeding season from January to July. The nest may be a cup (see picture), a semi-dome or a dome made of dead leaves, dead brackesn, grasses, rootlets and other material. It's placed on the ground, between boulders or in a hollow pile of boulders or in a mossy bank. Lays 2 - 4 eggs.
Resident species.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. 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
3. Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Streaked Wren-Babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Streaked_Wren-Babbler

External Links

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