The Old World babblers or Timaliidae are a family of mostly Old Worldpasserine 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 (also known as pseudo-babblers).
Timaliids are small to medium birds. They have strong legs, and many are quite terrestrial. They typically have generalised bills, similar to those of a thrush or warbler, except for the scimitar babblers which, as their name implies, have strongly decurved bills. Most have predominantly brown plumage, with minimal difference between the sexes, but many more brightly coloured species also exist.[1]
This group is not strongly migratory, and most species have short rounded wings, and a weak flight. They live in lightly wooded or scrubland environments, ranging from swamp to near-desert. They are primarily insectivorous, although many will also take berries, and the larger species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates.[1]
Typical babblers live in communities of around a dozen birds, jointly defending a territory. Many even breed communally, with a dominant pair building a nest, and the remainder helping to defend and rear their young. Young males remain with the group, while females move away to find a new group, and thus avoid inbreeding. They make nests from twigs, and hide them in dense vegetation.[1]
Taxonomy and systematicsedit
The systematics of Old World babblers have long been contested. During much of the 20th century, the family was used as a "wastebin taxon" for numerous hard-to-place Old World songbirds (such as Picathartidae and Pnoepygidae, as well as the New World species the wrentit). The German ornithologist Ernst Hartert summarized this attitude with the statement that, in the passerines: "Was man nicht unterbringen kann, sieht man als Timalien an." (What one can't place systematically is considered an Old World babbler).[2]
The most obviously misplaced taxa were removed piecemeal towards the end of the last century. Since then, with the aid of DNA sequence data, it has been confirmed that even the remaining group is not monophyletic. Analysis of mtDNAcytochrome b and 12S/16S rRNA data (Cibois 2003a) spread the Timaliidae that were studied across what essentially was a badly resolved polytomy with Old World warblers and white-eyes. As the typical warblers (genus Sylvia) grouped with some presumed timaliids (such as the fulvettas), it was suggested that some Sylviidae should be moved to the Timaliidae.
The phylogenetic relationships between Timaliidae and other families was determined in a molecular phylogenetic study by Tianlong Cai and collaborators that was published in 2019. It is shown in the cladogram below:[3][4]
^ abcPerrins, C. (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 188–190. ISBN1-85391-186-0.
^Hartert, Ernst (1910). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der Mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: R. Friedländer & Sohn. p. 469.
^ abCai, T.; Cibois, A.; Alström, P.; Moyle, R.G.; Kennedy, J.D.; Shao, S.; Zhang, R.; Irestedt, M.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Gelang, M.; Qu, Y.; Lei, F.; Fjeldså, J. (2019). "Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world's babblers (Aves: Passeriformes)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 130: 346–356. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.010. PMID 30321696.
^ abcGill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Babblers & fulvettas". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
^Collar, N. J.; Robson, C. (2016). "Scimitar-babblers and allies". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Timaliidae.
Babbler videos on the Internet Bird Collection
January 01, 1970
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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 also known as pseudo babblers Babblers Pin striped tit babbler Mixornis gularis Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Passeriformes Superfamily Sylvioidea Family TimaliidaeVigors amp Horsfield 1827 Genera See article text Morphological diversity is rather high most species resemble warblers jays or thrushes This group is among those Old World bird families with the highest number of species still being discovered Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Taxonomy and systematics 2 1 List of genera 3 References 4 External linksCharacteristics editTimaliids are small to medium birds They have strong legs and many are quite terrestrial They typically have generalised bills similar to those of a thrush or warbler except for the scimitar babblers which as their name implies have strongly decurved bills Most have predominantly brown plumage with minimal difference between the sexes but many more brightly coloured species also exist 1 This group is not strongly migratory and most species have short rounded wings and a weak flight They live in lightly wooded or scrubland environments ranging from swamp to near desert They are primarily insectivorous although many will also take berries and the larger species will even eat small lizards and other vertebrates 1 Typical babblers live in communities of around a dozen birds jointly defending a territory Many even breed communally with a dominant pair building a nest and the remainder helping to defend and rear their young Young males remain with the group while females move away to find a new group and thus avoid inbreeding They make nests from twigs and hide them in dense vegetation 1 Taxonomy and systematics editThe systematics of Old World babblers have long been contested During much of the 20th century the family was used as a wastebin taxon for numerous hard to place Old World songbirds such as Picathartidae and Pnoepygidae as well as the New World species the wrentit The German ornithologist Ernst Hartert summarized this attitude with the statement that in the passerines Was man nicht unterbringen kann sieht man als Timalien an What one can t place systematically is considered an Old World babbler 2 The most obviously misplaced taxa were removed piecemeal towards the end of the last century Since then with the aid of DNA sequence data it has been confirmed that even the remaining group is not monophyletic Analysis of mtDNA cytochrome b and 12S 16S rRNA data Cibois 2003a spread the Timaliidae that were studied across what essentially was a badly resolved polytomy with Old World warblers and white eyes As the typical warblers genus Sylvia grouped with some presumed timaliids such as the fulvettas it was suggested that some Sylviidae should be moved to the Timaliidae The phylogenetic relationships between Timaliidae and other families was determined in a molecular phylogenetic study by Tianlong Cai and collaborators that was published in 2019 It is shown in the cladogram below 3 4 Pycnonotidae bulbuls 160 species Sylviidae sylviid babblers 34 species Paradoxornithidae parrotbills and myzornis 37 species Zosteropidae white eyes 146 species Timaliidae babblers 57 species Pellorneidae ground babblers 65 species Alcippeidae Alcippe fulvettas 10 species Leiothrichidae laughingthrushes and allies 133 species The cladogram below shows the relationships between the genera These were determined in the same study by Cai and collaborators 3 4 Timaliidae Timalia chestnut capped babbler Dumetia babblers 2 species Mixornis tit babblers 5 species Macronus tit babblers 2 species Cyanoderma babblers 8 species Spelaeornis wren babblers 8 species Melanocichla laughingthrushes 2 species Pomatorhinus scimitar babblers 10 species Erythrogenys scimitar babblers 6 species Stachyris babblers 13 species List of genera edit The family as currently constituted includes 58 species divided into the following ten genera 4 Image Genus Living species nbsp Erythrogenys Baker 1930 scimitar babblers Large scimitar babbler Erythrogenys hypoleucos Black necklaced scimitar babbler Erythrogenys erythrocnemis Black streaked scimitar babbler Erythrogenys gravivox Spot breasted scimitar babbler Erythrogenys mcclellandi Grey sided scimitar babbler Erythrogenys swinhoei Rusty cheeked scimitar babbler Erythrogenys erythrogenys nbsp Pomatorhinus Horsfield 1821 scimitar babblers Indian scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus horsfieldii Sri Lanka scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus melanurus White browed scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus schisticeps Javan scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus montanus Sunda scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus bornensis Streak breasted scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus ruficollis Taiwan scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus musicus Red billed scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus ochraceiceps Black crowned scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus ferruginosus Brown crowned scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus phayrei Slender billed scimitar babbler Pomatorhinus superciliaris nbsp Spelaeornis David amp Oustalet 1877 typical wren babblers Rufous throated wren babbler Spelaeornis caudatus Mishmi wren babbler Spelaeornis badeigularis Bar winged wren babbler Spelaeornis troglodytoides Naga wren babbler Spelaeornis chocolatinus Grey bellied wren babbler Spelaeornis reptatus Chin Hills wren babbler Spelaeornis oatesi Pale throated wren babbler Spelaeornis kinneari Tawny breasted wren babbler Spelaeornis longicaudatus nbsp Stachyris Hodgson 1844 White breasted babbler Stachyris grammiceps Sooty babbler Stachyris herberti Nonggang babbler Stachyris nonggangensis Grey throated babbler Stachyris nigriceps Grey headed babbler Stachyris poliocephala Spot necked babbler Stachyris strialata Snowy throated babbler Stachyris oglei Chestnut rumped babbler Stachyris maculata White necked babbler Stachyris leucotis Black throated babbler Stachyris nigricollis White bibbed babbler Stachyris thoracica Sikkim wedge billed babbler Stachyris humei Cachar wedge billed babbler Stachyris roberti nbsp Cyanoderma Salvadori 1874 5 Rufous fronted babbler Cyanoderma rufifrons Rufous capped babbler Cyanoderma ruficeps Black chinned babbler Cyanoderma pyrrhops Golden babbler Cyanoderma chrysaeum Chestnut winged babbler Cyanoderma erythropterum Crescent chested babbler Cyanoderma melanothorax Buff chested babbler Cyanoderma ambiguum nbsp Dumetia Blyth 1852 Tawny bellied babbler Dumetia hyperythra Dark fronted babbler Dumetia atriceps nbsp Mixornis Blyth 1842 tit babblers Pin striped tit babbler Mixornis gularis Bold striped tit babbler Mixornis bornensis Grey cheeked tit babbler Mixornis flavicollis Kangean tit babbler Mixornis prillwitzi Grey faced tit babbler Mixornis kelleyi nbsp Macronus Jardine amp Selby 1835 tit babblers Brown tit babbler Macronus striaticeps Fluffy backed tit babbler Macronus ptilosus nbsp Timalia Horsfield 1821 Chestnut capped babbler Timalia pileata nbsp Melanocichla Sharpe 1883 Black laughingthrush Melanocichla lugubris Bare headed laughingthrush Melanocichla calvaReferences edit a b c Perrins C 1991 Forshaw Joseph ed Encyclopaedia of Animals Birds London Merehurst Press pp 188 190 ISBN 1 85391 186 0 Hartert Ernst 1910 Die Vogel der palaarktischen Fauna systematische Ubersicht der in Europa Nord Asien und der Mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vogel in German Vol 1 Berlin R Friedlander amp Sohn p 469 a b Cai T Cibois A Alstrom P Moyle R G Kennedy J D Shao S Zhang R Irestedt M Ericson P G P Gelang M Qu Y Lei F Fjeldsa J 2019 Near complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world s babblers Aves Passeriformes Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 130 346 356 doi 10 1016 j ympev 2018 10 010 PMID 30321696 a b c Gill Frank Donsker David Rasmussen Pamela eds January 2021 Babblers amp fulvettas IOC World Bird List Version 11 1 International Ornithologists Union Retrieved 17 June 2021 Collar N J Robson C 2016 Scimitar babblers and allies In del Hoyo J Elliott A Sargatal J Christie D A de Juana E eds Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 2 Passerines Barcelona Lynx Edicions External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Timaliidae Babbler videos on the Internet Bird Collection Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Old World babbler amp oldid 1138636721, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
