Jungle Babbler

I found this Jungle Babbler, foraging for insects during the morning walk at Bhuvanedra College, Karkala. I was using Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L II IS USM with Canon EF 2X III Extender on Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

The Jungle Babblers, Turdoides striata, are very noisy birds found all over India, including cities, suburbs, towns and villages! Belonging to the Babbler family, these birds make harsh kee-kee-kee sounds in such a manner that their group can be recognized from far away. Almost dust brown in color, they have a dull yellow bill with black in yellow eyes. Due to their yellow bill, they are some times confused with yellow billed bablers.

Jungle Babblers are generally very social and can be seen foraging in groups of 6-8 and even 10. This has given them several colloquial names such as saath behen, saath bhai, etc meaning ‘seven siblings’! Ironically, the range of Jungle Babblers is even greater than Common Babblers.

The Jungle Babbler is a resident breeding bird in India and Pakistan. The Jungle Babbler’s habitat is forest and cultivation. This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight. It is quite common in Indian forests. It builds its nest in a tree, concealed in dense masses of foliage. The normal clutch is two to six deep greenish blue eggs.

These birds are grey brown below, with some mottling on the throat and breast. The upper parts are a slightly darker shade. The head is grey, and the bill is yellow. Several races of the Jungle Babblers are recognized with slight variations in colors. Turdoides striata somervillei of Maharashtra has an orange tail and dark primary flight feathers. In the past, the Orange-billed Babbler, Turdoides rufescens, of Sri Lanka was considered to be a race of this babbler, but is now normally given full species status.

The Jungle Babbler lives in flocks of seven to ten or more. It is a noisy bird, and the presence of a flock may generally be known at some distance by the harsh calls, continual chattering, squeaking and chirping produced by its members. It feeds mainly on insects, but also eats nectar and berries.