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Yellow-eyed Babbler - BirdForum Opus

Photo by ColD
Bund Barathur, Rajastan, India, January 2007
Photo by Rajiv Lather
Yamuna river, Sonipat, India, December 2008
Chrysomma sinense

Identification

18 - 23cm. A brown, long-tailed babbler.

  • Short stout black bill
  • Orange-yellow eye with broad orange eye-ring
  • White lores, eyebrow, throat and brest
  • Long, rufous tail
  • Brown above, creamy below

Juveniles are much paler and more rufous above, have a browner bill and darker eyes.

Similar species

Could be confused with Jerdon's Babbler, Slender-billed Babbler or Jungle Prinia.

Distribution

South Asia. Found on the Indian Subcontinent (Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh) and east over Burma to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and southern China.
Common in parts of its range.

Taxonomy

Fours subspecies recognized:

Habitat

Open grass and scrubland, secondary growth, thorn-jungle, tamarisks, edges of cultivation, reedbeds, fernlands. Usually in the lowlands up to 1500m.

Behaviour

Feeds on caterpillars, grasshoppers and other insects. Takes also spiders, berries and nectar.
Clings to twigs and reed stems sideways or upside-down like a tit. Seldom on ground. Seen in pairs or outside the breeding season in small groups, often associated with Prinias.
Breeding season from March to November in most of its range. The nest is a small, cone-shaped cup made of coarse grass, fibrous bark strips, dry plant fibres and bamboo leaves. It's suspended between upright stems of reeds, grasses, sugar cane or monsoon plants or wedged in a small tree, shrub or bush. Lays 3 - 5 eggs.
Resident species.

References

  1. 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.
  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

Recommended Citation

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