Ajay Kumar at 19:51, 25 August 2023

2023-08-25T19:51:17Z

New page

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Jerdon's Babbler Roing Grassland Arunachal Pradesh India April 2019.jpg
| image_caption = Jerdon's babbler in [[Roing]], Grassland [[Arunachal Pradesh]]
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=''Chrysomma altirostre'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T22716326A111106627 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22716326A111106627.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Chrysomma
| species = altirostre
| authority = [[Thomas C. Jerdon|Jerdon]], 1862
| synonyms =
''Moupinia altirostris'' 
''Pyctorhis altirostris'' 
''Pyctorhis griseigularis'' 
''Timalia altirostris''
}}

'''Jerdon's babbler''' ('''''Chrysomma altirostre''''') is a [[Passerine|passerine bird]] native to [[wetlands]] and grasslands of the [[Indian sub-continent]]. It is listed as [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] since 1994.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> It is a member of the genus ''[[Chrysomma]]'' of the family [[Paradoxornithidae]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jønsson, K. A. |author2=Fjeldså, J. |year=2006 |title=A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri) |journal=Zoologica Scripta |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=149–186 |doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00221.x |s2cid=85317440 |url=http://www.academia.edu/download/40705568/JonssonOscSupertree.pdf}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name=HoBW>{{cite book |author=Collar, N. J. |author2=Robson, C. |author3=Sharpe, C. J. |year=2019 |chapter=Jerdon's Babbler (''Chrysomma altirostre'') |editor=del Hoyo, J. |editor2=Elliott, A. |editor3=Sargatal, J. |editor4=Christie, D. |editor5=de Juana, E. |title=[[Handbook of the Birds of the World]] |chapter-url=https://www.hbw.com/species/jerdons-babbler-chrysomma-altirostre |publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Barcelona |volume=2}}</ref>

The common name commemorates the surgeon-naturalist [[Thomas C. Jerdon]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Beolens, B. |title=Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds |year=2003 |publisher=Christopher Helm|location=London|pages=180–181|author2=Watkins, M.}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Pyctorhis altirostris.jpg|thumb|upright|1876 illustration of Jerdon's babbler]]
[[File:Chrysomma_altirostre_griseigularis.jpg|thumb|upright|Jerdon's babbler in its habitat]]
Measuring 16–17 cm in length, it is quite intermediate in [[Morphology (biology)|habitus]] between certain [[typical warbler]]s (''Sylvia'') and the [[parrotbill]]s (''Paradoxornis''). Like these, it is a drab bird with a long tail used to balance when creeping through the vegetation; its bill is thicker than in ''Sylvia'' but not as heavy as in ''Paradoxornis''. [[Buff (colour)|Buff]]y [[chestnut brown]] above and a slightly lighter yellowish-brown on the belly, its [[Lore (anatomy)|lore]]s are pale greyish, as are the throat and breast. The tail and a wing patch are redder than the rest of the upperside. The legs and feet are dark, the bill is greyish-horn colored above and pale below; the eyes' [[Iris (anatomy)|irides]] are yellowish-brown and a thin nude ring of greenish-yellow skin surrounds the eye. The sexes are alike; young birds have a more orange hue to the upperside plumage, and the lower bill is pink. Differences between [[subspecies]] are slight, with the central population essentially having richer chestnut brown and darker grey colours.<ref name=HoBW/>

Its relative, the [[yellow-eyed babbler]] (''C. sinense''), looks like a brighter version of the same but has somewhat more vivid colors, with white replacing grey in the plumage, an additional white [[supercilium]], yellowish legs, feet and irides, and an orange-yellow eye-ring.<ref name=Baral1991>{{cite journal |author=Baral, H. S. |author2=Eames, J. C. |year=1991 |title=Jerdon's Babbler ''Moupinia altirostris'': a new species for Nepal |journal=Forktail |volume=6 |pages=85–87 |url=http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/forktail/6pdfs/Baral-Babbler.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011025007/http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/forktail/6pdfs/Baral-Babbler.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-10-11 }}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
''Chrysomma altirostre'' was the [[scientific name]] proposed by [[Thomas C. Jerdon]] in 1862 for a pale reddish brown babbler collected near [[Thayetmyo]] in northern [[Myanmar]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Jerdon, T. C. |year=1862 |title=Notice of some New Species of Birds from Upper Burmah |journal=Ibis |volume=4 |issue=13 |pages=19–23 |doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1862.tb07470.x |url=https://archive.org/details/ibis04brit/page/22}}</ref> ''Pyctorhis griseigularis'' proposed by [[Allan Octavian Hume]] in 1877 was a ferruginous red babbler collected in the [[Dooars]] of [[Bhutan]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hume, A. O. |year=1877 |title=Novelties? |journal=Stray Feathers. Journal of Ornithology for India and Its Dependencies |volume=5 |pages=100–117 |url=https://archive.org/details/strayfeathersjou51877hume/page/116}}</ref> ''Pyctorhis altirostris scindicus'' proposed by [[Herbert Hastings Harington]] in 1915 was an earthy brown babbler from [[Sukkur]] in [[Sindh, Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Harington, H. H. |year=1915 |title=Notes on the Indian Timeliides and their allies (laughing thrushes, babblers, &c.) Part III. Family — Timeliidæ |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=23 |pages=417–453 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbombayn231914bomb/page/422}}</ref>

Three [[subspecies]] are recognized, based mainly on their [[allopatric]] ranges:<ref name=HoBW/>
*''C. a. altirostre'' occurs in the [[floodplain]]s of the [[Ayeyarwady River]] from [[Bhamo]] to [[Bago, Myanmar|Bago]] and up the [[Sittaung River]] nearly to [[Taungoo]] in Myanmar
*''C. a. griseigularis'' occurs in the [[Terai]] from western [[Nepal]] to [[northeastern India]]
*''C. a. scindicum'' occurs in the [[Indus River]] basin

== Distribution and habitat ==
Jerdon's babbler lives all-year-round near river courses, where it inhabits dense [[reedbed]]s and tall grasslands consisting of [[cogongrass]] (''Imperata cylindrica''), [[common reed]] (''Phragmites'') and [[reedmace]] (''Typha'') species.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> In Pakistan, it occurs along the Indus and its tributaries.<ref name=sd1999>{{cite journal |author=Showler, D. A. |author2=Davidson, P. |year=1999 |title=Observations of Jerdon's Babbler ''Chrysomma altirostre'' and Rufous-vented Prinia ''Prinia burnesii'' in Punjab and North-West Frontier Provinces, Pakistan |journal=Forktail |volume=15 |pages=66–76 |url=http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/forktail/15pdfs/Showler-Jerdon%27s.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610214539/http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/forktail/15pdfs/Showler-Jerdon%27s.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-06-10 }}</ref> In [[Punjab, India]], it was recorded in Harike Wildlife Sanctuary.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Sawant, S. and Sudhagar, M. |year=2013 |title=Notes on the newly discovered population of Sind Jerdon's Babbler ''Chrysomma altirostre scindicum'' in Harike Wildlife Sanctuary, Punjab, India |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=110 |issue=3 |pages=187–192 }}</ref>
In the Terai, it was recorded in [[Shuklaphanta National Park]] and [[Dudhwa National Park]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Baral, H. S. |author2=Inskipp, C. |year=2009 |title=The Birds of Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, Nepal |journal=Our Nature |volume=7 |pages=56–81 |doi=10.3126/on.v7i1.2554 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bhardwaj, G. S. |author2=Mohan, D. |year=2011 |title=Record of Jerdon's Babbler ''Chrysomma altirostre'' from Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, India |journal=BirdingASIA |volume=16 |pages=109 }}</ref>
In northeast India, it was sighted in [[Kaziranga National Park|Kaziranga]], [[Orang National Park|Orang]], [[Manas National Park|Manas]] and [[Dibru-Saikhowa National Park]]s, [[Majuli]], and [[D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />
In Myanmar, it was thought to be [[extinct]], but rediscovered in May 2014 in the lower Ayeyarwady floodplain near [[Yangon]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rheindt, F. |author2=Tizard, R. |author3=Pwint, N. |author4=Lin, N. |year=2014 |title=The rediscovery of Myanmar's Jerdon's Babbler ''Chrysomma altirostre altirostre'' |journal=BirdingASIA |volume=22 |pages=13–15 |url=https://programs.wcs.org/Portals/126/BirdingAsia22%20pp13-15.pdf}}</ref>

Plants dominating its favorite habitat are typically tall reeds several meters in height. In the Indus River basin, it is associated with hardy sugarcane (''[[Tripidium arundinaceum]]'') and [[kans grass]] (''Saccharum spontaneum''). In the dooars, it also lives in stands of ravennagrass (''[[Tripidium ravennae]]''). On the other hand, sugarcane plantings or other single-species reedbeds as well as lower growth are not very attractive to the species. Other plants, typically grasses, are found to a lesser extent in the bird's haunts, including [[satintail]]s, giant cane (''[[Arundo donax]]''), vetiver or ''khus'' (''[[Chrysopogon zizanioides]]''), ''[[Desmostachya bipinnata]]'' and ''[[Themeda arundinacea]]''.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

==Behaviour and ecology==
Its song is a weak 4- to 8-note warbling ''chi-chi-chi-chew-chew-chew'', ''tew-tew-tew-tew chew'' or ''ih-ih-ih-ih chew chitit chew i'wwiuu'', with a drawn-out end note and sometimes starting with a chatter of ''itch, itit'' or ''tchew''. Birds sing usually in the early morning and in the evening, perching upright on a reed, with the head slightly elevated. Calls include a short ''tic'' or ''tsik'', sometimes extended into a series ''ts-ts-tsik'' which may end in a plaintive ''tew''.<ref name=HoBW/> Pairs or families, occasionally small flocks of 1-2 dozen, move about quietly in dense stands of grasses and reeds that grow several meters high, usually avoiding lower growth and shrubland. A typical [[foraging]] technique involves perching nearly [[Horizontal plane|horizontally]] on a reed stem, picking up a [[leaf sheath]] with the bill, and quickly tearing off the leaf and its base sheet to expose small [[arthropod]]s and other [[invertebrate]]s. The tearing of dry leaves produces a subdued crackling sound that can sometimes be heard from some dozens of meters away.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

==Conservation status==
Jerdon's babbler is nowhere common and thought to be declining. Its continuing existence in [[Bangladesh]] is uncertain. The subspecies ''scindicum'' is known to be rare and has been declining throughout recent decades. Altogether, less than 10,000 adult birds are thought to remain.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> This means that its population has declined by an estimated 30% and is expected to continue to do so for another decade at least. The reasons are not fully understood, but the population reduction is probably related to [[habitat destruction]] by [[drainage]] and [[damming]] of [[wetlands]] for agriculture and [[flood control]], and these threats are not expected to cease anytime soon. Presently, such habitat is extremely rare. [[Sustainable]] cutting of reedbeds, which yield material for human use, is apparently tolerated by ''C. altirostre''. In Pakistan, it is often sighted in the [[Rohri Canal]] south of [[Khairpur, Pakistan|Khairpur]]. Large flocks are found in partially cut or burned reedbeds, thus if large-scale clear-cutting is avoided, human use of reeds may in fact improve [[habitat]] quality by preventing the [[Ecological succession|simultaneous aging and decay]] of wide stretches of habitat. As a rule-of-thumb, as long as a healthy population of ''Phragmites'' reeds persists, the birds are likely to persist too.<ref name=sd1999 /> In 2019, it was rediscovered in the wetlands of [[Wakema Township]], Myanmar during a conservation study after being last sighted in Myanmar in 1941.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Status of Globally Threatened and Near-threatened Bird species in Wetland areas of Wakema Township, Ayeyarwady Region |url=https://meral.edu.mm/record/6345/files/Ah%20Mar%20Yi%20%26%20Dr%20Myo%20Sandar%20Win%28URJ%2C%202019%20Vol.%2012%29.pdf |journal=Universities Research Journal |author1=Myo Sandar Win |author2=Ah Mar Yi |author3=Theingyi Soe Myint |author4=Kaythi Khine |author5=Hele Swe Po |date=2019 |volume=12 |number=1 |publisher=University of Yangon}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Collar, Nigel J.; Andreev, A.V.; Chan, S.; Crosby, M.J.; Subramanya, S. & Tobias, J.A. (eds.) (2001). ''Chrysomma altirostre In: Threatened Birds of Asia: The BirdLife International Red Data Book'': 2112–2119. BirdLife International. {{ISBN|0-946888-44-2}}

== External links ==
*{{cite web |author=BirdLife International |title=Species factsheet: Jerdon's Babbler ''Chrysomma altirostre'' |year=2019 |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/jerdons-babbler-chrysomma-altirostre}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3179511}}

[[Category:Chrysomma|Jerdon's babbler]]
[[Category:Old World babblers|Jerdon's babbler]]
[[Category:Birds of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Birds of Northeast India]]
[[Category:Birds of Nepal]]
[[Category:Birds of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1862|Jerdon's babbler]]

Jerdon's babbler - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 19:51, 25 August 2023