The Negros striped babbler (''Zosterornis nigrorum'') 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

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 ...

Negros Island Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral T ...

in 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 ...

. 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

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

in the range of 900–1,600 masl. 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 taxonomy

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 of lower-elevation montane forest and degraded habitat on Negros. Warm brown above and cream-colored below with fine black streaks. Note the white throat, the small white area around the eye bordered black, and the black line through the eye. Often found in mixed-species flocks. Somewhat similar to Stripe-sided and Visayan Rhabdornises, but smaller, with a white face rather than a broad black band through the eye. Voice includes high-pitched chipping notes." It looks extremely similar to the closely related Panay striped babbler, with the differences being that the Negros striped babbler has more light and finely streaked underparts, a more distinct mask and overall lighter appearance.

Ecology and behavior

Feeds on insects and small fruits. Found singly, in pairs or even large groups of 20 individuals, an unverified report more than 50 individuals seen. Joins mixed-species feeding flocks that include Visayan bulbul, Visayan fantail,

Warbling white-eye The warbling white-eye (''Zosterops japonicus'') is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. The specific epithet is occasionally written ''japonica'', but this is incorrect due to the gender of the genus. Its native range includes much of ...

, Mountain leaf warbler and Elegant tit. Gleans food from the understorey and bushes, sometimes reaching heights of 20 meters in the canopy, particularly around dusk. Also searches among dead foliage, including on banana plants. A juvenile was seen in September and birds with enlarged gonads were found in November and December, but little else is known about its nesting behavior.

Habitat and conservation status

It inhabits montane forest between 950 and 1,600 m, chiefly occurring between 1,050 and 1,400 m, generally favouring the lower storey. It seems to tolerate degraded habitats, having been recorded in recently degraded forest, secondary forest and dense bushes at the forest edge and in forest opened up for agriculture. However, it appears to be limited to areas with some remaining forest cover. IUCN has assessed this bird as Endangered. This species' main threat is

with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of logging, agricultural conversion and mining activities occurring within the range. By 1988, Negros only had 4% forest cover remaining and reached 1,250 m on Mt. Talinis, one of its key habitats. Among the other four striped babblers ( Panay striped babbler, Palawan striped babbler and Luzon striped babbler), this bird is the most endangered with population being estimated to be just 600 - 1,700 individuals. This is due to

being one of the most deforested islands in the country and thus has a lack of suitable habitat. The

Mount Talinis Mount Talinis is a complex volcano in the Philippine province of Negros Oriental. At about above sea level, it is the second highest mountain on Negros Island after Mount Kanlaon, and the tallest peak in the mountain range known as the Cuernos ...

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park is a List of protected areas of the Philippines, natural park in the Philippines surrounding Lake Balinsasayao and Lake Danao (Negros), Lake Danao in the province of Negros Oriental, west of Dumaguete. It co ...

area has been proposed for conservation funding. This area includes about 40 km² of high-altitude forest, which affords indirect protection through the Negros Geothermal Reservation. Environmental awareness campaigns have been conducted near

itself. Mount Kanlaon is also a protected area if the babbler still persists there.

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. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1091317 Negros striped babbler Birds of Negros Island Negros striped babbler Negros striped babbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic birds of the Philippines