Puff-throated Babbler Pellorneum ruficeps Scientific name definitions

15–17 cm; 21–31 g. Smallish babbler, pale brown above and buffy white below, with distinctive head pattern and broad streaks on breast and flanks. Nominate race has dull rufescent crown, nape and upper mantle, indistinct buffy tips of forehead feathers, buffy-whitish supercilium from bill base over buff-brown ear-coverts; upperparts warm-tinged pale greyish-brown, upperwing and tail browner with greyish-brown fringes; chin to lower belly buffy whitish, breast with prominent, broad pale grey-brown streaks that become broader and more suffused on flanks, vent lightly tinged buff with broad pale grey-brown centres; iris orange-brown to deep crimson; upper mandible greyish-brown, lower mandible fleshy yellow; legs yellowish-flesh or brownish-flesh. Sexes similar. Juvenile is paler than adult, with less contrast between crown and back, underparts dull white, washed with dull ashy ochre on sides, no lanceolate spots, undertail-coverts dull ashy ochre. Race <em>olivaceum</em> is larger than nominate, upperparts darker, crown dull chestnut, dark tips on forehead, border of ear-coverts darker, streaks on underparts heavier, darker and more oval, generally whiter below; pallidum is strikingly paler above; punctatum has greyish cast to forehead, and a hindcollar of streaked pale-edged darker feathers, underparts buffier; mandellii is like previous but wing and wing-coverts as nominate, crown darker and more chestnut than nominate, hindcollar much more boldly patterned, buffier below; chamelum is similar to last but paler and greyer above, streaks on underparts a little broader; pectorale also is similar, but crown and nape darker, breast streaks more numerous and forming sharply demarcated gorget, streaks below broader overall, underparts a little richer buff; ripleyi also is similar, but crown richer-toned, more rufescent upperparts, richer buff wash below; vocale is like chamelum below, but crown more chestnut, darker above; stageri is darker than nominate, crown deeper-toned, upperparts darker, hindcollar strongly patterned, streaks below broader and more numerous; shanense differs from last in paler and brighter crown, weaker hindcollar, paler and more olivaceous upperparts, weaker and fewer breast streaks; <em>hilarum</em> is like previous, but hindcollar even less obvious; victoriae is like last, but crown paler and greyer, underparts paler buff; minus is like nominate in having no hindcollar pattern, but has brighter rufous crown than any of preceding races, with rufescent-tinged olive-brown upperparts, buff-washed underparts, sparse narrow breast streaks; <em>subochraceum</em> is like previous, but paler and more rufescent above, brighter buff below; insularum is similar to last, but darker and richer above and richer buff below, also warmer on ear-coverts and neck side; <em>acrum</em> also is similar, but darker and colder above, with deeper-toned crown, paler below; chthonium is like last above, but with weak hindcollar pattern, broader and more coarse breast streaks, whiter ventrally; indistinctum is similar to previous, but crown and upperparts vaguely paler, latter more rufescent, underparts slightly buffier; elbeli is darker above and more strongly streaked below than last; dusiti is like previous but much whiter below, with darker, narrower and more contrasting breast streaks; oreum is rather deep-toned above, has fairly well-defined hindcollar, weak buff wash below, fairly strong breast streaking; vividum is like previous but crown darker, almost chestnut, upperparts deeper-toned (almost like mandellii), hindcollar still better defined, streaking below bolder; euroum is very similar to preceding race, but slightly darker and more rufescent above, hindcollar slightly weaker, warmer buff below; deignani also is similar, but breast streaks broader and more triangular, slightly greyer above; ubonense resembles chthonium but crown slightly darker, breast streaks broader and blacker; dilloni is like last but darker above, with relatively little contrast between crown and mantle, underparts strongly washed fulvous, breast streaks weaker and browner; smithi has crown and upperparts darkest of all races, underparts washed with dark rufescent buff.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Inhabits floor and understorey of deciduous or broadleaf evergreen forest, teak forest, secondary growth, bamboo, tea gardens, scrub, sholas, lantana thickets at forest edge, thickets in ravines and along watercourses, acacia, Ziziphus, etc.; occurs up to 1900 m (in Bhutan mainly below 1000 m).

Resident.

Insects , including cockroaches (Blattodea). Found in pairs or small parties. Forages on ground , rummaging among and turning over dead leaves .

Song a repeated loud, shrill, quite high-pitched “wi-chu” or “wi-ti-chu”, sometimes with more stressed end note; described also as persistently repeated whistle of 2–3 notes, with last note strongly downslurred. In peninsular India, gives 3-note call, second note highest, e.g. “pre-tee-dééér”, sometimes with short prefix “tu-” or a more distinct 2-note “tui-dééer”, with first note upslurred and second downslurred; in Himalayas, 2-note “preét-deéééer” with first note higher than second. Also a jolly, rapid, descending sequence, “tuituitititi-twititi-tititi…”, and variants. Described also as a loud, sprightly “seet-séét’sit’sit-séét-seet-suut-suut-suuut-suuutseet-séét’sit’sit’…”, second or third note in each phrase highest, subsequent ones hitching alternately down scale, with much lower one followed by a slightly higher one, so that phrase trends lower; phrases repeated several times without pauses before ending abruptly. Calls with subdued, nasal “chi” and “erh” notes and rasping “rrrrrit”.

Mar–Aug; multi-brooded. Nest described as a large, flimsy ball or dome, with entrance at side, or a semi-dome or cup, sheltered by large upward-pointing leaf (Tenasserim and S Thailand), made of dead bamboo or other leaves, grasses, moss, plant fibres and dead twigs , lined, often scantily, with fine grasses, fine stems of maidenhair fern, moss roots, fine roots, fibres and leaf stalks, placed on ground among dead leaves, at foot of bush or clump of grass or sheltered by stone. Clutch 2–5 eggs (usually 3–4 in N India, and 2–3 in S India, S Myanmar, S Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia), white, sometimes slightly tinged greyish, greenish, yellowish, buffish or cream, usually profusely (sometimes finely) speckled with bright reddish-brown or chocolate-brown to purplish-grey or lilac; no information on incubation period; distraction display noted during this stage of cycle; nestling period 12–13 days.

Not globally threatened. Generally common. Locally fairly common in C & E Nepal, rarer above 915 m. Frequently and regularly recorded in Bhutan. Generally common in India, where fairly common in Corbett National Park, on New Forest campus at Dehra Dun, and in Dehra Dun valley (Uttaranchal), seen intermittently in Rajaji National Park (Uttar Pradesh), common in Nameri and Kaziranga National Parks (Assam), and present elsewhere in NE India in (at least) Buxa Tiger Reserve (West Bengal), where 4·2 birds/km² in hill forest, also Barail Reserve Forest and Dibru-Saikhowa National Park (where common), in Assam, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh) and Dampa Tiger Reserve (Mizoram), and in Mudumalai National Park, in Tamil Nadu; in surveys in 1973–1997 in Western Ghats, found in 19 areas, including eight protected areas, namely Sultan’s Battery, Silent Valley, Parambikulam, Munnar, Periyar East, Periyar West, Tenmalai and Agastiamalai. Fairly common in China. Common in numerous protected areas in SE Asia. Common in Khao Pra-Bang Khram and Kaeng Krachan National Parks, in Thailand. Fairly common and widespread, at least before 1970, in Cambodia. In Laos, common in Xe Pian National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA), and in Xe Bang Nouan, Phou Xang He, Phou Xiang Thong and Dong Hua Sao NBCAs, and present in many other areas, including Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA. In Vietnam, present in Na Hang Nature Reserve (in N) and in nine protected areas in the Annamese lowlands, and common in Nam Bai Cat Tien National Park (Cochinchina).