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Rusty-breasted Wren-Babbler Gypsophila rufipectus Scientific name definitions

Nigel Collar and Craig Robson
Version: 1.1 — Published August 18, 2021

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Field Identification

18–19 cm. Mid-sized babbler, scaled dark brown above, dull rusty with vague dark scales and pale streaks below, throat whitish. Crown, neck side and upperparts are warm buffy brown with broad dark brown scaling, upperwing and tail blackish-brown; most of head side with bluish-grey bare skin, ear-coverts grey-brown with dark brown markings; chin and upper throat whitish with blackish peppering, underparts rusty tan with pale shaft streaks and very narrow brown scaling, buffier on mid-belly and darker, ­blackish-ochre on lower flanks, thighs and vent; iris red, chestnut, brown or chocolate, bluish-grey orbital skin (particularly over and behind eye); bill black; legs dark brownish. Sexes similar. Juvenile apparently undescribed.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Sumatra.

Habitat

Primary montane broadleaf evergreen forest, and dense roadside vegetation in conifer plantations, at 900–2500 m.

Movement

Resident.

Diet and Foraging

Insects, small snails. Forages on ground among leaf litter, and just above ground level.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song a clear piping “hi-hi-hi-hi-hi-huuuuh” or “ip’ip’ip’ip’ip’ip-puuuuuh” (with c. 4–6 short notes), lasting 1·2–1·6 seconds, and repeated every 3–6 seconds. In duet, one bird utters almost continuous “ip’ip’ip’ip’ip’ip…” while second gives varied, undulating “hu wip ii”, either slow and spaced or speeded-up to “hu-wip’ee”. Calls apparently undocumented.

Breeding

Little known. The only nest described was cup-shaped; made of dead leaves, twigs and hairs, and wrapped around the branches of a leaning tree, c. 1 m off the ground; a single egg was being incubated on 5 and 9 Aug; egg pale brownish, lacking any speckles, blotches or lines (1).

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia EBA. Locally common throughout mountain ranges of Sumatra, and found to be very common in N, near Brestagi; present in Gunung Leuser and Kerinci Seblat National Parks, and locally common at latter. Apparently a low-density species even in good habitat, and probably one that reacts very unfavourably to habitat modification and fragmentation; consequently, a species that is informally of conservation concern.
Distribution of the Rusty-breasted Wren-Babbler - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Rusty-breasted Wren-Babbler

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Collar, N. and C. Robson (2021). Rusty-breasted Wren-Babbler (Gypsophila rufipectus), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rbwbab1.01.1
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