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Sulawesi Babbler - BirdForum Opus

Photo by James Eaton
Gunong Ambang, Sulawesi, Indonesia, September 2004
Photo by kctsang
Tomohon, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Alternative names: Celebes Babbler; Strickland's Babbler

Pellorneum celebense

Trichastoma celebense

Identification

15.5 cm. A small, relatively featureless babbler:

  • Strong grey bill
  • Thin malar whisker
  • Clinally varied in coloration (from rufous upperparts and whitish underparts to grey-brownish upperparts and rufous underparts)

Similar to White-chested Babbler and Ferruginous Babbler but ranges don't overlap.

Distribution

Sulawesi endemic. South East Asia: Indonesia: Greater Sundas. Common and widespread within range.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Clements recognises the following subspecies [1]:

  • P. c. celebense: Northern peninsular Sulawesi, Bangka, Lembeh and Manterawu islands
  • P. c. rufofuscum: North-central, south-central and southeastern Sulawesi and Butung Island
  • P. c. finschi: Southern Sulawesi
  • P. c. togianense: Togian Islands

The proposed subspecies connectens and improbatum are usually merged with rufofuscum.

Habitat

Wide variety of habitats from primary broadleaf forest to cultivated areas with settlements but density higher in forested areas. Found from the lowlands up to 1900m.

Behaviour

Feeds presumably on invertebrates.
A shy bird, usually foraging close to the ground, running like a mouse.
Breeding season from April to December. The nest is a cup made of dead leaves and grass blades. It's placed 0.3 to 0.5m above the ground. Lays 2 eggs.
Resident species.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.

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