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Striated Wren-Babbler Ptilocichla mindanensis Scientific name definitions

Nigel Collar and Craig Robson
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2007

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

13–14 cm; 26–31 g. Distinctive smallish short-tailed ground-dwelling babbler, dark brown with white throat, long white stripes below. Nominate race has crown blackish-edged rufescent brown with pale shaft streaks, upperparts dull rufescent brown with vague pale shaft streaks, rump plain and more chestnut, upperwing and tail plain brown with slight rufescent tinge; lores whitish, bold white postocular supercilium, ear-coverts greyish-brown, submoustachial stripe black; chin and throat white, underparts dull ochrous-brown with long broad white stripes, narrower and fewer stripes on lower areas; iris variable, orange to dark brown; bill blackish, paler base of lower mandible; legs brown to dark brown. Sexes similar. Juvenile apparently undescribed. Race minuta is smaller than nominate, with darker brown upperparts, bolder shaft streaks on back, and slightly darker breast; fortichi is like previous, but margins of crown and back feathers black, lower back and rump darker, and greater contrast between blackish-brown and white on underparts; basilanica has pale chestnut-brown upperparts with pale shaft streaks.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Striated Wren-Babbler (minuta/fortichi) Ptilocichla mindanensis minuta/fortichi

Ptilocichla mindanensis minuta
P. m. minuta
Available illustrations of subspecies in this group
SUBSPECIES

Ptilocichla mindanensis minuta Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Samar and Leyte, in EC Philippine Is.
SUBSPECIES

Ptilocichla mindanensis fortichi Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Bohol, in SC Philippines.
EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Striated Wren-Babbler (mindanensis/basilanica) Ptilocichla mindanensis mindanensis/basilanica

Ptilocichla mindanensis mindanensis
P. m. mindanensis
Available illustrations of subspecies in this group
SUBSPECIES

Ptilocichla mindanensis mindanensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Mindanao (except extreme W of Zamboanga Peninsula), in S Philippines.
SUBSPECIES

Ptilocichla mindanensis basilanica Scientific name definitions

Distribution
extreme W of Zamboanga Peninsula (1) and Basilan, off W Mindanao.

Distribution

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.

Habitat

Primary and logged forest; generally below 1000 m, but to 1400 m on Mt Kitanglad (Mindanao).

Movement

Resident.

Diet and Foraging

Presumably invertebrates. Found singly, in pairs or in small parties of up to four individuals. Forages in dense low vegetation near ground, or while walking on ground; turns over leaves.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song on Bohol a spaced 8-note series, descending in pitch, with stressed notes, “hi hi hi hii hi’hu hi hi híéw”, reminiscent of that of a Cacomantis cuckoo; on Mindanao song similar, “hi hi hi’uu uu uu uu-u”, with second song type consisting of 4–12 clear penetrating “hiúú” or “jhíéw” whistles, first syllable stressed but quieter, “hiúú-hiúú-hiúú-hiúú…”, both types being recorded simultaneously. In alarm, calls with short spluttering notes stressed at start, “trrr’t”, “trrrt’trrt”, “wh’rrp” and similar.

Breeding

Jan–Aug. One nest was a small semi-domed cup, made of dead leaves, loosely lined with roots and small plant twigs, 0·3 m above ground and wedged among leaf-stalk bases of small spiny palm; contained 1 egg, bluish-tinged white, with mid-brown blotches and lines and underlying pale purple-brown clouds. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Mindanao and the Eastern Visayas EBA. Considered to be generally uncommon in most of range, though fairly common in Rajah Sikatuna National Park, on Bohol. Previously classified as Near-threatened.
Distribution of the Striated Wren-Babbler - Range Map
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Distribution of the Striated Wren-Babbler

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Collar, N. and C. Robson (2020). Striated Wren-Babbler (Ptilocichla mindanensis), version 1.0. 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.stwbab2.01
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