Scimitar Babbler

{{Taxobox , name = Scimitar babblers , image = Pomatorhinus ruficollis.jpg , image_width = 240px , image_caption = Taiwan scimitar babbler
''Pomatorhinus musicus'' , regnum =

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

ia , phylum =

Chordata A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five synapomorphies, or primary physical characteristics, that distinguish them from all the other taxa. These fiv ...

, classis =

Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

, ordo =

Passeriformes A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

, familia = Timaliidae , subdivision_ranks = Genera , subdivision = ''Pomatorhinus''
''Jabouilleia'' The scimitar babblers are

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s in the genera '' Pomatorhinus'' and ''Jabouilleia'' of the large

Old World babbler The Old World babblers or Timaliidae are a family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in S ...

family of

passerines A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

. These are birds of tropical

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, with the greatest number of species occurring in hills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. Scimitar babblers are rangy, medium-sized, floppy-tailed land birds with soft fluffy plumage. They have strong legs and are quite terrestrial. This group is not strongly migratory, and most

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

have short rounded wings, and a weak flight. Scimitar babblers have long downcurved bills, used to work through the leaf litter, which give the group its name. They are typically long tailed, dark brown above, and white or orange-brown below. Many have striking head patterns, with a broad black band through the eye, bordered with white above and below. Most scimitar babblers are jungle species, difficult to observe in the dense vegetation they prefer, but like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and the characteristic bubbling calls are often the best indication that these birds are present. As with other babbler species, they frequently occur in groups of up to a dozen, and the rain forest species like

Indian scimitar babbler The Indian scimitar babbler (''Pomatorhinus horsfieldii'') is an Old World babbler. It is found in peninsular India in a range of forest habitats. They are most often detected by their distinctive calls which include an antiphonal duet by a pair ...

often occur in the mixed feeding flocks typical of tropical Asian jungle. The genera are: * ''

Pomatorhinus ''Pomatorhinus '' is a genus of scimitar babblers, jungle birds with long downcurved bills. These are birds of tropical Asia, with the greatest number of species occurring in hills of the Himalayas. These are medium-sized, floppy-tailed landbird ...

'' - 15 species * ''

Jabouilleia ''Napothera'' is a genus of birds in the family Pellorneidae. Some of its species were formerly placed in the genera ''Rimator'' and ''Jabouilleia''. Species The genus contains the following species: References *Collar, N. J. & Robson, C. 200 ...

'' - 2 species Old World babblers Timaliidae Bird common names