The giant babax (Pterorhinus waddelli) is a species of bird in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae, found in India and Tibet. It prefers the low bushes at the edge of the southern Tibetan plateau,[2] but it can adapt to both dry and coldmountain habitats.[3] It is also commonly seen around villages and monasteries, where it feeds off scraps.[2]
It is a bulky, long-tailed brown bird with a curved bill and dark streaks.[2] On average, it is 31–34cm (12–13in) long.[3] Its vocalizations vary between melodic flute-like notes and harsh jabbering ones.[2]
The giant babax was described by the English ornithologist Henry Dresser in 1905 from a specimen collected by the British explorer Laurence Waddell in the Yarlung Tsangpo river valley in Tibet.[4] Based on the results of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the Leiothrichidae that was published in 2018, the giant babax was placed in the resurrected genus Pterorhinus.[5][6]
↑ Cibois, A.; Gelang, M.; Alström, P.; Pasquet, E.; Fjeldså, J.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Olsson, U. (2018). "Comprehensive phylogeny of the laughingthrushes and allies (Aves, Leiothrichidae) and a proposal for a revised taxonomy". Zoologica Scripta. 47 (4): 428–440. doi:10.1111/zsc.12296. S2CID51883434.
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