Scaly Chatterer - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Trevor Hardaker
Yabello, Ethiopia, May 2009

Alternative names: Bare-eyed Babbler; Scaly Babbler; Pale-billed Scaly Babbler

Turdoides aylmeri

Identification

Length 21-22 cm.

• Grey-brown above
• Rufous crown
• Buff below with scaling on the throat and breast
• Yellow bill
• Pale lilac skin around the eye

Distribution

Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania.

Taxonomy

Turdoides aylmeri has four subspecies:^[1]

• T. a. aylmeri

• Somalia and eastern Ethiopia

• T. a. boranensis

• Southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya

• T. a. keniana

• South-eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania

• T. a. mentalis

• Interior north-eastern Tanzania and adjacent southern Kenya

This species is sometimes placed in genus Argya.

Habitat

Dry shrubland and thicket.

Behaviour

Forages near and on the ground in small groups.
The diet is not know but presumed to be mainly invertebrates and small fruit and seed.
Breeding season March to April and August to September in Ethiopia, December in Tanzania. The nest is a large, strong cup made of twigs and stems, placed in a bush. No more information about breeding known.

Vocalisation

A high-pitch chatter.

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. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154
3. 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

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Scaly Chatterer. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Scaly_Chatterer

External Links

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