Chestnut-crowned Babbler
Pomatostomus ruficeps
The Chestnut-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps) is a rare australasian babbler found only in Australia, weighing about 58 g. The chestnut-crowned babbler is a medium-sized bird that is endemic to arid and semi-arid areas of south-eastern Australia.
About the Chestnut-crowned Babbler
The chestnut-crowned babbler is a medium-sized bird that is endemic to arid and semi-arid areas of south-eastern Australia. It is a member of the family Pomatostomidae, which comprises five species of Australo-Papuan babblers. All are boisterous and highly social, living in groups of up to 23 individuals that forage and breed communally. Other names include red-capped babbler, rufous-crowned babbler and chatterer.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in September. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a 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. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Chestnut-crowned Babbler?
- The Chestnut-crowned Babbler is a small sized bird weighing about 58 g.
- Where can you see a Chestnut-crowned Babbler?
- The Chestnut-crowned Babbler is endemic to Australia, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Chestnut-crowned Babbler?
- The Chestnut-crowned Babbler is most easily confused with the Hall's Babbler, the White-browed Babbler and the Grey-crowned Babbler.
- Is the Chestnut-crowned Babbler endangered?
- The Chestnut-crowned Babbler is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Chestnut-crowned Babbler for real
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