The ground babblers are a family, Pellorneidae, of mostly
Old World
The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
passerine
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 generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
s belonging to the superfamily
Sylvioidea
Sylvioidea is a superfamily of passerine birds, one of at least three major clades within the Passerida along with the Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea. It contains about 1300 species including the Old World warblers, Old World babblers, swallows ...
. They are quite diverse in size and coloration, and usually characterised by soft, fluffy plumage and a tail on average the length of their body, or longer. These birds are found in tropical zones, with the greatest biodiversity in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
and the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
.
Morphological diversity is rather high; most species resemble
warbler
Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.
Sylvioid warblers
T ...
s,
jay
Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually ...
s or
thrush
Thrush may refer to:
Birds
* Thrush (bird), any of the birds in the family Turdidae
** List of thrush species
* Antthrushes, the Formicariidae family of birds
* Dohrn's warbler, or Dohrn's thrush-babbler, a species ''Sylvia dohrni'' in the famil ...
es, making field identification difficult.
The family Pellorneidae was first introduced by the French-American ornithologist
Jean Théodore Delacour
Jean Théodore Delacour (26 September 1890 – 5 November 1985) was a French ornithologist and aviculturist. He later became American. He was renowned for not only discovering but also rearing some of the rarest birds in the world. He establishe ...
in 1946. Pellorneidae used to be one of four subfamilies of Timaliidae (tree- and scimitar-babblers), but was then elevated to its own family rank in 2011 based on molecular markers.
Description
Jungle babblers are small to medium-sized birds which are on average 14 cm long and weigh around 30g, but range from 10–26 cm, and 12-36g
Divided between being
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...
and
arboreal
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...
, Pellorneidae have strong legs. They usually have generalised bills, similar to those of a
thrush
Thrush may refer to:
Birds
* Thrush (bird), any of the birds in the family Turdidae
** List of thrush species
* Antthrushes, the Formicariidae family of birds
* Dohrn's warbler, or Dohrn's thrush-babbler, a species ''Sylvia dohrni'' in the famil ...
or
warbler
Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.
Sylvioid warblers
T ...
, with the exception of the long-billed wren-babbler ('' Napothera malacoptila'') and both species of scimitar babbler from the Jabouilleia genus which have long, curved bills. Most jungle babblers have predominantly brown plumage with little
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
, but brightly coloured species of this family also exist. Many jungle babblers have distinctive 'eyebrows' and 'caps' which may help to differentiate them from similarly-sized and coloured species.
This group is not strongly migratory, and most
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
have short rounded wings, and weak flight. They live in lightly wooded, scrubland, or jungle environments, ranging from swamp to near-desert. They are primarily
insectivorous
A robber fly eating a hoverfly
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores we ...
, although many will also take berries, and the larger,
omnivorous
An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...
species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates.
Behaviour
Jungle babblers are generally non-migratory, social birds, defined by their lack of seasonal plumage and unspotted juvenile plumage. These birds tend to be shy, but a few species are highly territorial and respond to playbacks of their vocalisations. Breeding behaviour is not well known for all species of jungle babbler, but some birds, such as the Streaked wren-babbler (''Napothera brevicaudata'') have adapted to their habitat by nesting in holes or shallow cavities in the limestone cliffs and boulders of their region. Others nest on the ground or in trees or shrubs. Care of nestlings by both parents is common, and cooperative breeding is prevalent among babblers
Distribution and habitat
Pellorneidae are found throughout the tropics of Asia and Africa. Preferring sheltered places, these birds tend to stick to the undergrowth or forest edge.
Taxonomy and systematics
Originally placed within Timaliidae as a subfamily, Pellorneidae was elevated into family status following a closer analysis of the superfamily Sylvioidea. Sylvioidea was initially considered too complex to differentiate using morphology due to multiple instances of convergent evolution, and it wasn't until molecular analysis was conducted that the superfamily was recognised to be non-monophyletic - hence Pellorneidae being recognised as a family. Pellorneidae is ia
sister
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...
to a clade containing the families
Leiothrichidae
The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. The family contains 133 species and is divided into 16 genera. The species are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest v ...
and
Alcippeidae
''Alcippe'' is a genus of passerine birds in the monotypic family Alcippeidae. The genus once included many other fulvettas and was previously placed in families Pellorneidae or Timaliidae.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Alcippe'' previously included m ...
.
Another taxonomy revision was the renaming of the
rufous-vented grass babbler
The rufous-vented grass babbler or rufous-vented prinia (''Laticilla burnesii'') is a small warbler in the family Pellorneidae that occurs in Pakistan, northwestern India and Nepal.
Taxonomy
The rufous-vented grass babbler was described by the E ...
(''Laticilla burnesii'') and swamp grass babbler (''Laticilla cinerascens'') from ''
Prinia
Prinia is a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They were at one time classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae.
The prinias are sometimes referred to as wren-warblers. They are a ...
'' (in the family
Cisticolidae
The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae.
This family probably originated ...
) to ''Laticilla''. Data sequencing using mitochondrial and nuclear markers revealed that ''P. burnesii'' and ''P. cinerascens'' belonged in a different family to the other members of Cisticolidae, with the results supported by
Bayesian inference
Bayesian inference ( or ) is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to calculate a probability of a hypothesis, given prior evidence, and update it as more information becomes available. Fundamentally, Bayesian infer ...
The cladogram below showing the phylogenetic relationships between the families is based on a study of the babblers by Tianlong Cai and colleagues published in 2019, wirth species numbers from the
IOC World Bird List
''Birds of the World: Recommended English Names'' is a paperback book written by Frank Gill and Minturn Wright on behalf of the International Ornithologists' Union. The book is an attempt to produce a standardized set of English names for all bi ...
Malacopteron
''Malacopteron'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Pellorneidae.
Species
The genus contains the following species:
References
*Collar, N. J. & Robson, C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 – 291 in; del Hoyo, J., ...
White-hooded babbler
The white-hooded babbler (''Gampsorhynchus rufulus'') is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae.
It is found from the eastern Himalayas to central Myanmar and southwestern China. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowla ...
Schoeniparus
''Schoeniparus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Pellorneidae.
Taxonomy
The species in genus ''Schoeniparus'' were until recently placed in the genus ''Alcippe (bird), Alcippe'' with other fulvettas. Recent genetic analysis found tha ...
Rufous-winged fulvetta
The rufous-winged fulvetta (''Schoeniparus castaneceps'') is a bird species of the family (biology), family Pellorneidae. Its common name is misleading, because it is not a close relative of the "typical" fulvettas, which are now in the genus ''F ...
Laticilla
''Laticilla'' is a genus of small passerine birds in the family Pellorneidae. Members of the genus are found in Pakistan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh.
A molecular phylogenetic study of the Cisticolidae published in 2013 found that the rufous- ...
'' (species moved here from ''
Prinia
Prinia is a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They were at one time classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae.
The prinias are sometimes referred to as wren-warblers. They are a ...
'' in the
Cisticolidae
The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae.
This family probably originated ...
)
*
Rufous-vented grass babbler
The rufous-vented grass babbler or rufous-vented prinia (''Laticilla burnesii'') is a small warbler in the family Pellorneidae that occurs in Pakistan, northwestern India and Nepal.
Taxonomy
The rufous-vented grass babbler was described by the E ...
Illadopsis
''Illadopsis'' (from ''illas'', Ancient Greek, Greek for Thrush (bird), thrush and ''opsis'', appearing) is a genus of secretive forest birds in the family Pellorneidae. All are found in tropical Africa, where they frequent the lower strata of ...
Mountain illadopsis
The mountain illadopsis (''Illadopsis pyrrhoptera'') is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is found in the Albertine Rift montane forests, Kenya, northern Malawi and western Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical ...
Malacocincla
''Malacocincla'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Pellorneidae. The type species for this genus is ''M. abbotti'', and a 2012 study shows that members of the genus ''Malacocincla'' as defined earlier fall into multiple clades and are t ...
''
*
Abbott's babbler
Abbott's babbler (''Malacocincla abbotti'') is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is widely distributed along the Himalayas in South Asia and extending into the forests of Southeast Asia. They are short-tailed and stout birds which ...
Napothera
''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 ...