Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Plume-backed Tit-Babbler

Photo by kctsang
Johore, West Malaysia, July 2007

Macronus ptilosus

Macronous ptilosus

Identification

16.5 - 17cm. A dark, rich brown Babbler:

• Chestnut crown
• Black throat
• Bluish lores and eye-ring
• Elongate plumes at lower back and rump (not always well visible)

Distribution

Found from south Thailand to peninsular Malaysia, on Sumatra and Borneo (Indonesia, Brunei). Extinct in Singapore.

Fairly common in parts of its range, but numbers decline in response to destruction of habitat.

Taxonomy

This is a polytypic species^[1] consisting of 4 subspecies.

Subspecies

• M. p. ptilosus:

• Peninsula Thailand and Malaya

• M. p. trichorrhos:

• Sumatra and Batu Islands)

Merged with ptilosus by Del Hoyo et al.^[2]

• M. p. sordidus:

• Bangka and Belitung Islands

Merged with reclusus by Del Hoyo et al^[2] and Gill and Donsker.^[3]

• M. p. reclusus:

• Borneo

Habitat

Forest undergrowth of primary and selectively logged forest, forest edges and dense secondary growth. Found from lowlands to 200m in southeast Asia, 700m in Sumatra and 1000m in Borneo.

Behaviour

Diet

Feeds on insects.
Usually seen in pairs, foraging from the foliage.

Breeding

Breeding season February to June in Malaysia, February in Sumatra, October to July in north Borneo and April to July in south Borneo. The nest is a loose ball or cup mad of dead leaves and strips of dry palm. It's placed up to 0.6m above the ground in a palm or in thick undergrowth. Lays 2 -3 eggs.

Movements

Resident species.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. 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. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.1). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Fluffy-backed_Tit-Babbler

External Links

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