The common babbler (''Argya caudata'') is a member of the family of

Leiothrichidae The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire fami ...

. They are found in dry open scrub country mainly in India. Two populations are recognized as subspecies and the populations to the west of the Indus river system are now usually treated as a separate species, the

Afghan babbler The Afghan babbler (''Argya huttoni'') is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found from southeastern Iraq to south western Pakistan. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the common babbler. When compared to the common b ...

(''Turdoides huttoni''). The species is distinctly long-tailed, slim with an overall brown or greyish colour, streaked on the upper plumage and having a distinctive whitish throat.

Taxonomy

The common babbler was formerly placed in the genus ''

Turdoides ''Turdoides'' is a genus of passerine birds in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae. The species are distributed across Africa and southern Asia and are typically fairly large, long-tailed birds which forage in noisy groups. The majority of s ...

'' but following the publication of a comprehensive

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus ''

Argya ''Argya'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. The species are distributed across Africa and southern Asia and are typically fairly large, long-tailed birds that forage in noisy groups. Members of this genus were formerly p ...

''.

Description

This small, slim babbler with a long tail is buff to grey above with dark streaks. The underside is unstreaked and paler, the throat being nearly whitish. The species was originally described as ''Crateropus caudatus'' before it was moved to the genus ''Argya'' and still later to ''Turdoides''. The species ending was, however, retained in these new combinations but the corrected feminine form ''caudata'' matches the Latin gender of the genus ''Turdoides''. The common babbler group includes ''eclipes'' (Hume, 1877) from northern Pakistan to northwestern India and nominate ''caudata'' ( Dumont de Sainte Croix, 1823) in southern Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and India (including the Lakshadweep Islands).

Behaviour and ecology

Like most other babblers, the common babbler is found in small parties of six to twenty. They are vociferous, moving on the ground often with members keeping watch from the tops of bushes. They forage through the undergrowth hopping on the ground and creeping like rodents. When moving on the ground, they often keep the long tail raised. The calls include a rapid trill ''which-which-whichi-ri-ri-ri-ri'' while the alarm consists of a high pitched squeak. They are found mainly in dry regions with sparse and low thorny scrub vegetation. They feed on insects, berries and grains. Favourite berries include those of the ''Lantana'' and ''Capparis''. Several breeding pairs may be found within a group. Adults will often indulge in preening the head and neck feathers of other group members. The nesting season in India is in summer (May to July) with two peaks broken by a gap during the rains. They build a shallow cup nest low in a thorny bush and lay about 2-3 turquoise blue eggs. In northern India, they have been found to use heaps of lopped up ''Zizyphus'' for nesting. The eggs hatch after about 13–15 days. Broods may be parasitized by the

Jacobin cuckoo The Jacobin cuckoo (''Clamator jacobinus''), also pied cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds that is found in Africa and Asia. It is partially migratory and in India, it has been considered a harbinger of the mons ...

and the

common hawk-cuckoo The common hawk-cuckoo (''Hierococcyx varius''), popularly known as the brainfever bird, is a medium-sized cuckoo resident in the Indian subcontinent. It bears a close resemblance to the Shikra, even in its style of flying and landing on a perch ...

. The young birds are able to fly after about a week and continue to stay with the group, joining the adults at the roost. Helpers, possibly young birds from the previous brood may assist the parents, feeding the brooding females and the young birds. The feeding bird often hops after delivering food calls with a low trill and shivers its feathers. The gape of young birds is yellow and the iris colour changes from hazel to dark brown. They roost communally. The cooperative breeding structure is thought to be formed by groups of males with a shared lineage with the females moving out of their natal groups.

Gallery

File:Common Babbler (Turdoides caudatus) in Hodal, Haryana W IMG 6245.jpg, ''T. c. caudata'' (Haryana, India) File:Common Babbler AMSM6639.jpg, Common babbler ''T. c. caudata'' at

Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary located in Jamnagar district of Gujarat, India. About 300 species of migratory birds have been recorded here. In 2022, on World Wetlands Day (2 February) it was declared as a Ramsar site. Sanctuary Th ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

File:Common Babbler David Raju.jpg, From India

References

External links

Photographs and videos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1586361

common babbler The common babbler (''Argya caudata'') is a member of the family of Leiothrichidae. They are found in dry open scrub country mainly in India. Two populations are recognized as subspecies and the populations to the west of the Indus river system a ...

Birds of the Middle East Birds of South Asia