Dark-fronted Babbler
|
|
| Dark-fronted Babbler | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Rhopocichla atriceps (Jerdon, 1839) |
The Dark-fronted Babbler, Rhopocichla atriceps, is an Old World babbler. The Old World babblers are a large family of passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in southeast Asia.
The Dark-fronted Babbler is a resident breeding bird in Sri Lanka, and in the Western Ghats of southern India. Its habitat is dense forest undergrowth and bamboo jungle. This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight.
This babbler builds its nest in a bush, concealed in dense masses of foliage. The normal clutch is two eggs.
The Dark-fronted Babbler measures 13cm including its longish tail. It is brown above and white below. The two subspecies in the Western Ghats have black hoods, but the two Sri Lankan races have this reduced to a dark bandit mask.
Dark-fronted Babblers have short dark bills. Their food is mainly insects. They can be difficult to observe in the dense vegetation they prefer, but like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and their characteristic calls are often the best indication that these birds are present.
Reference
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6