The black-lored babbler or Sharpe's pied-babbler (''Turdoides sharpei'') is a species of

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 lightweig ...

in the family

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 fam ...

. It is found in southwestern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, Burundi, Rwanda, and the part of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

immediately adjacent See als
this site
where one can request an updated checklist. to the three last-named countries. This bird was formerly considered the same species as '' Turdoides melanops'' of southern Africa, now known as the black-faced babbler. These birds are mostly grey-brown with white mottling, especially on the underparts, that varies according to location and the individual. The population near

Nanyuki Nanyuki is a Market town in Laikipia County of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. The name is derived from Enyaanyukie Maasai word for resemblance. It is situated just ...

, Kenya, is darker but can have a pure white chin or entire throat. The combination of pale yellow or white eyes and black lores (the areas between the eye and the bill) separates adults of this species from similar babblers except ''melanops'', though all juvenile babblers have brown eyes. In Kenya, single birds give repeated single or double harsh notes such as ''waaach'' or a muffled ''kurr-ack''; pairs or groups give longer phrases in chorus. The tempo is frequently slow for a babbler. They are most vocal in the early morning and late afternoon. Like other ''Turdoides'', it is found low or on the ground in or near dense woody vegetation, including in cultivated areas. Kenyan birds forage in bushes and tall grass. They are "restless, noisy, and suspicious" and "typical gregarious babblers". Single birds give repeated single or double harsh notes such as ''waaach'' or a muffled ''kurr-ack''; pairs or groups give longer phrases in chorus. The tempo is frequently slow for a babbler. They are most vocal in the early morning and late afternoon.

References

*Collar, N. J. & Robson, C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 – 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. '' Handbook of the Birds of the World'', Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Turdoides sharpei1

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2226307 black-lored babbler Birds of East Africa black-lored babbler black-lored babbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot