Jungle Babbler

Adult ssp. orientalis in Kawal, A.P., India.

The jungle babbler's habitat is forest and cultivation. This species, like most babblers, is non-migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight. The sexes are identical, drably coloured in brownish grey with a yellow-bill making them confusable only with the endemic yellow-billed babblers of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The upperparts are usually slightly darker in shade and there is some mottling on the throat and breast. The race T. s. somervillei of Maharashtra has a very rufous tail and dark primary flight feathers.The jungle babbler can be separated from the White-headed Babbler by the dark loreal zone between the bill and the eye as well as the lack of a contrasting light crown. The calls of the two species are however distinct and unmistakable. The jungle babbler has harsh nasal calls while the White-headed Babbler has high pitched calls. Another babbler that is similarly found in urban areas is the large grey babbler, however that species has a distinctive long tail with white outer tail feathers.