Abbott's babbler

Malacocincla abbotti

Photo by Gaurav Bhatnagar (Flickr)

Common name:

Abbott's babbler (en); zaragateiro-de-Abbott (pt); akalat d'Abbott (fr); tordina de Abbott (es);

rotschwanz-maustimalie (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Timaliidae

Range:

This Asian species is found from the foothills of the Himalayas, in Nepal and Bhutan, through northern India and Bangladesh, and into south-east Asia down to Indonesia.

Size:

Abbott's babblers are 12-13 cm long and weigh 25-30 g.

Habitat:

These birds are found in the understory of broadleaved evergreen forests, in forest edges, in areas of secondary growth and scrubland. They are found from sea level up to an altitude of 900 m.

Diet:

The Abbott's babbler does most of its foraging on the ground level, often among the leaf litter, taking various insects and other small invertebrates.

Breeding:

These birds breed in April-July. The nest is a bulky cup of plant materials, placed in a palm tree or on the undergrowth. There the female lays 3-5 bright salmon eggs with dark blotches and red lines. The eggs are incubated for 14-15 days and the chicks fledge 10-12 days after hatching. Each pair may produce several broods per season.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The Abbott's babbler has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common in much of its range, although very rare and local in most of Nepal and rare in Bhutan. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any current declines or substantial threats.