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The Luzon striped babbler (''Zosterornis striatus'') is a species of
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 ...
in the family
Zosteropidae The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the ...
. It is one of the four striped babblers along with the
Negros striped babbler The Negros striped babbler (''Zosterornis nigrorum'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Negros Island in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forest in the range of 900–1,600 masl. It is ...
, Panay striped babbler and Palawan striped babbler. It is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, where it is only found in northern
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
and in
Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...
. Its natural
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
is
tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in large ...
. It is threatened by
habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
.


Description and taxomy

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...
describes the bird as "A fairly small bird. Rufous-brown on the wings, back, and tail, with a gray head, heavily-streaked pale underparts, and a black face and moustache stripe. Often found in mixed-species flocks. Somewhat similar to Stripe-headed rhabdornis and Grand rhabdornis, but smaller, with a white eye-ring rather than a black band through the eye. Voice includes a loud rattling trill and various quiet chips and squeals." It is differentiated from the three other striped babblers namely, the Palawan striped babbler, Panay striped babbler and the
Negros striped babbler The Negros striped babbler (''Zosterornis nigrorum'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Negros Island in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forest in the range of 900–1,600 masl. It is ...
, by its heavy black streaking on its belly, gray face with a distinct striped moustache and faint eyering.


Ecology and behavior

Feeds on berries, small fruits and insects. Found singly, in pairs and small parties but is most often seen in mixed species flocks with other small forest birds like Golden-crowned babbler, Blue-headed fantail,
Rufous paradise flycatcher The rufous paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone cinnamomea'') is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is found in Indonesia and the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. Description and taxonomy EBird descr ...
, Lemon-throated leaf warbler, Yellow-wattled bulbul,
white-eye The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, ...
s,
sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...
s and
flowerpecker The flowerpeckers are a family (biology), family, Dicaeidae, of passerine birds. The family comprises three genera, ''Dicaeum'', ''Prionochilus'' and ''Pachyglossa'', with 56 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarge ...
s. Forages in all levels but is usually seen in the understorey where it methodically gleans on leaves searching for insects. Almost nothing is known about its breeding habits. In May, two birds were seen returning to berries believed to have been feeding a chick. Otherwise, mating habits, nest and fledgling stages all completely unknown.


Habitat and Conservation Status

It is found in lowland and foothill forest and overgrown disturbed areas on Luzon. It also persists in heavily degraded forest and overgrown clearings. It is primarily a bird of forest floor and understorey, although it is sometimes also found in the middle and upper storeys. It mainly occupies forest below 500 m, although in the Sierra Madre it is locally common up to 1,000 m. Interestingly, compared with the other striped babblers ( Panay striped babbler, Palawan striped babbler and
Negros striped babbler The Negros striped babbler (''Zosterornis nigrorum'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Negros Island in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forest in the range of 900–1,600 masl. It is ...
), which are all mid to high elevation species, the Luzon striped babbler is seen in lower lying areas. IUCN has assessed this bird as least concern but was formerly assessed as
Near-threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...
with the population believed to be on the decline. This species' main threat is
habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of logging, agricultural conversion and mining activities occurring within the range. There are currently no targeted conservation plans for the species. It does occur in the protected area of
Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park The Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park is the largest protected area of the Philippines covering the northern range of the Sierra Madre mountains of eastern Luzon. The park is located in the eastern part of the province of Isabela in Cagayan ...
but protection and enforcement from loggers and hunters is still lax. It will indirectly benefit from the conservation of other
North Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
species like the
Critically Endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
Isabela oriole The Isabela oriole (''Oriolus isabellae'') is a species of the oriole family endemic to Luzon in the Philippines. It is an oriole identified by its yellowish green plumage and a very large gray bill. This species was presumed to be extinct for m ...
. The stronghold of the Isabela oriole in
Baggao Baggao, officially the Municipality of Baggao (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 87,753 people. Baggao is from Tuguegarao, from Manila, and from Alcala. E ...
is being proposed as a protected area and will thus preserve (on paper) key habitat for this beautiful babbler.


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 The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...
'', Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Luzon striped babbler Birds of Luzon Luzon striped babbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Zosteropidae-stub Endemic birds of the Philippines