Slender-billed Babbler - BirdForum Opus

Ssp. longirostris
Photo by firozhussain
Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India, March 2017

Argya longirostris

Turdoides longirostris

Identification

With 22 - 23cm (8¾-9 in) a rather slim Turdoides-babbler.

• Downcurved slender black bill
• Faint dark cross-bars on long tail
• Unstreaked rufous above
• Buffy below
• White lores and short eyebrow
• Whitish to bluish-white eye

Distribution

Found in south Nepal (Terai grasslands) and in the grasslands of northeast India (mainly Assam but also West Bengal and Manipur). Records from Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, but these need further confirmation.

Generally rare and classified as vulnerable as the habitat of this species is under great pressure.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.^[3]

Subspecies

The possible population in southwest Burma may belong to arcana or may form a third subspecies. Further study is needed.
This species is sometimes placed in genus Argya.

Habitat

Seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. Usually recorded in the lowland up to 250m, but up to 750m in Manipur.

Behaviour

Diet

Feeds on insects.

Breeding

Like other Turdoides-babblers gregarious and noisy, except in breeding season when found in pairs or singly. Very skulking, hiding in reeds and grass. Forages mainly on ground.

Breeding

Breeding season from May to June. The nest is a neat cup made of leaves, grass and stems. It's placed in a bush in grassland. Lays 3 - 5 eggs.

Movements

Resident species.

References

1. 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
2. Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
3. 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/

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Slender-billed Babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Slender-billed_Babbler

External Links

Search for photos of Slender-billed Babbler in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.