| Rufous-vented grass babbler | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pellorneidae |
| Genus: | Laticilla |
| Species: | L. burnesii |
| Binomial name | |
| Laticilla burnesii (Blyth, 1844) | |
The rufous-vented grass babbler or rufous-vented prinia (Laticilla burnesii) is a small warbler in the family Pellorneidae that occurs in Pakistan, northwestern India and Nepal.
The rufous-vented grass babbler was described by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1844 under the binomial name Eurycercus burnesii. [2] [3] It is named after Alexander Burnes. [4]
Two subspecies are recognised: [5]
Rufous-vented grass babblers average 17 cm (6.7 in) long with a wing length from the bend to the tip of 5.3 cm (2.1 in) (females) or 5.5 cm (2.2 in) (males) to 5.9 cm (2.3 in). Adults are a cool brown colour above except that a buffy region on the back of the neck and upper back forms a distinct collar. Bold dark streaking starts at the forehead and fades on the back. The underparts are whitish with a tawny hue and dark streaking on the flanks. The undertail coverts are bright rufous or chestnut. The upper surface of the wings has barring formed by the covert feathers and their paler fringes. The wing linings are a faintly tawny off-white. The flight feathers of the wings are greyish brown; when the wing is folded, the primaries barely extend beyond the tertials. Those of the tail may be greyish or olive-brown and have rufous tips. The tail is long 8.7 to 11.5 cm (3.4 to 4.5 in) and strongly graduated, that is, the outermost pair of feathers is only one-third as long as the central pair. The head shows a conspicuous white eye-ring, whitish lores, and dark-streaked whitish cheeks. [6]
The upper mandible is horn-brown; the lower, straw-brown or flesh-brown. The eyes are brown, varying a little in lightness. The legs are flesh-colored or pale brown. [6]
From July to September the plumage is worn, especially the tail, which may be much shorter than in fresh plumage and missing the rufous tips. The moult is usually complete by October. [6]
Juveniles are similar but have loose, fluffy plumage. They have little or no streaking on the back and their tail tips are rufous, not tawny. They molt into adult head and body plumage, retaining their flight feathers, about 4 to 6 weeks after fledging. [6]
Calls include "a wheezy feez, and a quiet, very rapid nasal rattle." The song is described as a warble about 4 seconds long, liquid and loud, comparable to that of a dunnock. [6]
As treated here, this bird is found only in the plains of the Indus in Pakistan and adjacent in Punjab (India). (However, the swamp grass babbler of Assam and Bangladesh is often combined with this species.) It inhabits a variety of long grasslands, notably plains of sarkhan ( Saccharum ) but also plains of elephant grass and ekra grass, sometimes where mixed with acacias and tamarisks. It can even occur in deserts with scattered patches of tall grass, and reedbeds. It prefers the vicinity of large rivers and their tributaries or swamps. [1] [6]
This species skulks low in grass tussocks, hopping and threading its way through, often in small groups, feeding on insects. It usually holds its tail slightly cocked. When it flies, something that is hard to cause, it goes only to a nearby tussock. It is easiest to find in the breeding season, when it sings in the mornings and evenings. [6]
The conservation status of the rufous-vented grass babbler is rated at near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is locally common or abundant in the Punjab and northern Sindh but much rarer in southern Sindh. [1]
Prinia is a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They were at one time classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae.
The rufous-tailed scrub robin is a medium-sized member of the family Muscicapidae. Other common names include the rufous scrub robin, rufous bush chat, rufous bush robin and the rufous warbler. It breeds around the Mediterranean and east to Pakistan. It also breeds south of the Sahara from the Sahel region east to Somalia; these African birds are sometimes considered to be a separate species, the African scrub robin. It is partially migratory, wintering in Africa and India. This is a very rare visitor to northern Europe.
The plain prinia, also known as the plain wren-warbler or white-browed wren-warbler, is a small cisticolid warbler found in southeast Asia. It is a resident breeder from Pakistan and India to south China and southeast Asia. It was formerly included in the tawny-flanked prinia, resident in Africa south of the Sahara. The two are now usually considered to be separate species.
The grey-breasted prinia or Franklin's prinia is a wren-warbler belonging to the family of small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. This prinia is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and southeast Asia. Like other prinias, it often holds the tail upright but it is easily told by a smoky grey band across the breast which contrasts with a white throat. The beak is all black while the legs are pink. The tail is graduated as in other prinias and the grey feathers are tipped in white. In the breeding plumage the upperparts are grey while non-breeding birds are pale above with rufous wings and a weak supercilium. It is found in scrub, forest clearings and other open but well vegetated habitats. It can be confused with the rufescent prinia.
The tawny-bellied babbler also known in older Indian works as the rufous-bellied babbler is a small babbler that forages in small groups in low scrub forests. Like other members of the large Old World babbler family they are passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage. There are three subspecies within the Indian Subcontinent. The nominate hyperythra found in northern and eastern India is uniformly brown underneath while albogularis of the western Indian peninsula is white throated. The population in Sri Lanka, phillipsi, is also white throated but is paler underneath and has a larger bill.
The austral canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile.
The streak-backed canastero is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The cricket warbler, also known as cricket longtail, scaly longtail or cricket prinia, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It belongs to the genus Spiloptila; it is often the only species included in the genus but sometimes the red-fronted prinia is placed there as well.
The swamp grass babbler or swamp prinia is a small bird of the Indian subcontinent. Some authorities consider it a subspecies of the rufous-vented grass babbler.
The Himalayan shrike-babbler is a bird subspecies found in the western Himalayas that belongs to the shrike-babbler group. The genus was once considered to be an aberrant Old World babbler and placed in the family Timaliidae until molecular phylogenetic studies showed them to be closely related to the vireos of the New World, leading to their addition in the family Vireonidae. Males and females have distinctive plumages, with the males being all black about with a cinnamon-rufous tertial patch and a distinctive white stripe running from behind the eye. The underside is whitish with some pinkish buff on the flanks. Females have a greyish head, lack the white stripe and have the upperparts and wings with greens, yellow and chestnut. The subspecies is part of a cryptic species complex that was earlier considered as one species, white-browed shrike-babbler with several subspecies.
Laticilla is a genus of small passerine birds in the family Pellorneidae. Members of the genus are found in Pakistan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh.
