- White-throated Babbler
 - White-throated Babbler
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White-throated Babbler Argya gularis Scientific name definitions

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

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Field Identification

25–27 cm. Very long-tailed, fairly large Argya babbler, dark-streaked above, with white breast and buffy-rufous belly. Forecrown and short narrow supercilium are greyish-white with narrow black streaks, shading to pinkish mid-brown with longer narrow black streaks on rest of crown and nape, and to pale olive-brown on back , upperwing and tail, tail with faint close barring; lores and area under eye dusky, ear-coverts to lower neck side and breast side rufescent mid-brown; chin and submoustachial area to mid-breast white, shading to buffy rufous on remaining underparts; albinos have been recorded; iris bright yellow to yellowish-white; bill dark greenish-brown, pale yellow at gape; legs dirty pale green to brownish-green. Sexes similar. Juvenile is like adult.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Dry zone of C & S Myanmar.

Habitat

Scrub and bushes in semi-desert, borders of cultivation, thorn hedges, thickets, patches of bamboo, often close to habitation and even in compounds; lowlands to 600 m.

Movement

Resident.

Diet and Foraging

Insects. Occurs in parties of about seven individuals. Forages on ground, under scrub, also in small trees.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Flocks utter sibilant low “trrrr trrrr trrrr…” and louder, constantly repeated “chr’r’r’r’r’r’r” or “whir’r’r’r’r’r’r”.

Breeding

All year except Jan–Feb, and mostly Mar–May. Nest a flimsy or more substantial and compact cup (depending on situation), made of grasses, twigs, fibrous creepers and roots, placed in thorny bush, hedge, cleft of tree, bamboo clump or trelliswork on house verandah, up to 4·5 m above ground but usually lower. Clutch 3–5 eggs, usually 3–4, glossy pale blue to deep blue. No other information.
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Irrawaddy Plains EBA. Common within small range.
Distribution of the White-throated Babbler - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the White-throated Babbler

Recommended Citation

Collar, N. and C. Robson (2021). White-throated Babbler (Argya gularis), 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.whtbab1.01.1
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