Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. They are not closely related to the New World warblers. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into Cisticolidae and the kinglets into Regulidae. In the past ten years they have been the subject of much research and many species are now placed into other families, including the Acrocephalidae, Cettiidae, Phylloscopidae, and Megaluridae. In addition some species have been moved into existing families or have not yet had their placement fully resolved. A smaller number of warblers, together with some babblers formerly placed in the family Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae.
The Old World babblers or Timaliidae are a family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The timaliids are one of two unrelated groups of birds known as babblers, the other being the Australasian babblers of the family Pomatostomidae.
Pomatorhinus is a genus of scimitar babblers, jungle birds with long downcurved bills. These are birds of tropical Asia, with the greatest number of species occurring in hills of the Himalayas.
The Indian scimitar babbler is an Old World babbler. It is found in peninsular India in a range of forest habitats. They are most often detected by their distinctive calls which include an antiphonal duet by a pair of birds. They are often hard to see as they forage through dense vegetation. The long curved yellow, scimitar-shaped bills give them their name. It has been treated in the past as subspecies of the white-browed scimitar babbler which is found along the Himalayas but now separated into two species, the peninsular Indian species and the Sri Lanka scimitar babbler.
The bare-headed laughingthrush is a species of bird in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae. It is endemic to highland forests at elevations of 750–1,800 m (2,460–5,910 ft) in the mountain ranges of north-central Borneo, along with some outlying peaks. It is 25–26 cm (9.8–10.2 in) long, with both sexes similar in appearance. The head is brownish to greenish yellow and featherless. The area along the lower mandible has a bluish tinge. The rest of the body is dull blackish-brown tinged with grey. Juveniles have more feathers on the head, extending from the forehead to the crown.
The Javan scimitar babbler is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae. It is endemic to Java, Indonesia. The Sunda scimitar babbler, which is found in Sumatra, Borneo, and Malaysia, was formerly considered conspecific, with both species being grouped as the chestnut-backed scimitar babbler. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The Red-billed Scimitar-Babbler is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae. It is found in Northeast India, Southeast Asia and adjacent parts of southern China. It has a long reddish-orange decurved bill that is typical of Scimitar-Babblers, a rather long white supercilium, and brown upperparts and tail. Sexes are similar.
The streak-breasted scimitar babbler is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae.
The white-browed scimitar babbler is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The jungle babblers are a family, Pellorneidae, of mostly Old World passerine birds belonging to the superfamily Sylvioidea. They are quite diverse in size and coloration, and usually characterised by soft, fluffy plumage and a tail on average the length of their body, or longer. These birds are found in tropical zones, with the greatest biodiversity in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
The Sunda scimitar babbler is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae. It is endemic to Sumatra, Borneo, and Malaysia. The Sunda scimitar babbler and the Javan scimitar babbler being grouped as the chestnut-backed scimitar babbler. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
