Alternative name: Black-crowned Tree-Babbler
- Sterrhoptilus nigrocapitatus
Identification
13 - 14cm. A small dullish babbler.
- Grey-brown above
- Whitish below
- Slightly crested black crown
- Rusty malar
- Yellowish throat
Sexes similar.
Juveniles have a brownish crown.
Distribution
Endemic to the Philippines.
Fairly common in parts of its range, but patchily distributed.
Resident species.
Taxonomy
Also placed in genus Stachyris.
Subspecies[1]
There are 3 subspecies:
- S. n. nigrocapitata on Samar and Leyte
- S. n. affinis on Luzon
- S. n. boholensis on Bohol
Habitat
Undergrowth in moist lowland forests. Found at 100m - 1140m.
Behaviour
Usually seen singly, in pairs or small groups, often together with other species.
Diet
No information about diet. Feeds probably on invertebrates and some vegetable matter.
Forages in lower branches of trees where it hunts slowly and methodical. Hunts by foliage-gleaning and by disturbing insects around dead leaves trapped in canopy of small trees.
Breeding
Breeding season probably April to July. The nest is a deep cup made of moss and fine black fibres. It's suspended between small twigs of a bush or sapling, around 1.2m above the ground. Lays 3 eggs.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Avibase
- 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
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-crowned Babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-crowned_Babbler
