Chestnut-crowned Babbler

Chestnut-crowned babblers are dark, brown-grey birds with a white throat and breast, white-tipped tail and a long, black, down-curved bill. Wings are short and rounded and the tail is long with a rounded tip. Diagnostic features include two white wing bars and a rich, chestnut crown highlighted by long, white eyebrows. The birds have dark brown eyes and grey legs, while the wings, back and flanks are brown-grey to mottled dusky on the mantle. The white of the throat and breast is well-defined and narrower than that of the similar, white-browed babbler (Pomatostomus superciliosus). Voice: The birds have a strident, irregular but melodious territorial song, similar to the piping of the little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides), emitted from the top of a tall mulga tree or similar vantage point. There is constant chattering among members of the group, including whistling calls intermixed with tchak-tchak-tchak, which becomes louder and more frequent when excited, quarrelling or alarmed.