Eldarmrk at 08:57, 27 January 2026

2026-01-27T08:57:15Z

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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{use Indian English|date=February 2021}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Jungle Babbler
| image = Jungle_babbler_(Turdoides_striata)_Photograph_by_Shantanu_Kuveskar.jpg
| image_caption = ''Argya striata somervillei'' from Maharashtra
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2024 |title=''Argya striata'' |volume=2024 |article-number=e.T103871402A263871542 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T103871402A263871542.en |access-date=6 March 2025}}</ref>
| taxon = Argya striata
| authority = ([[Charles Dumont de Sainte Croix|Dumont]], 1823)
| synonyms = ''Turdoides striatus''<br/>''Malacocercus terricolor''<br/>''Cossyphus striatus''<br/>''Crateropus canorus''
| range_map = TurdoidesStriataMap.svg
}}
The '''jungle babbler''' ('''''Argya striata''''') is a member of the family [[Leiothrichidae]] found in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Jungle babblers are gregarious birds that forage in small groups of six to ten birds, a habit that has given them the popular name of "'''Seven Sisters'''" in urban Northern India, and ('''seven brothers''') in [[Bengali language|Bengali]], with [[cognate (etymology)|cognates]] in other [[Languages of India|regional languages]] which also mean "seven brothers".<ref>{{cite book|author=Yule, Henry|year=1903|title=Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases of kindred terms etymological, historical, geographical and discursive|editor=William Crooke |publisher=J. Murray |location = London|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:111.hobson }}</ref>

The jungle babbler is a common resident breeding bird in most parts of the Indian subcontinent and is often seen in gardens within large cities as well as in forested areas. In the past, the [[orange-billed babbler]], ''Turdoides rufescens'', of [[Sri Lanka]] was considered to be a subspecies of jungle babbler, but has now been elevated to a species.

==Taxonomy==
The jungle babbler was described by the French zoologist [[Charles Dumont de Sainte Croix]] in 1823, based on specimens from [[Bengal]]. He coined the [[binomial name]] ''Cossyphus striatus''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Dumont | first=Charles | author-link=Charles Dumont de Sainte Croix | year=1823 | title=Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles | editor-last=Cuvier | editor-first=Frédéric | editor-link=Frédéric Cuvier | volume=29 | language=fr | location=Strasbourg | publisher=F.G. Levrault | page=268 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25298945 }}</ref> This babbler was formerly placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Turdoides]]'' but following the publication of a comprehensive [[molecular phylogenetic]] study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus ''[[Argya]]''.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Cibois | first1=A. | last2=Gelang | first2=M. | last3=Alström | first3=P. | last4=Pasquet | first4=E. | last5=Fjeldså | first5=J. | last6=Ericson | first6=P.G.P. | last7=Olsson | first7=U. | year=2018 | title=Comprehensive phylogeny of the laughingthrushes and allies (Aves, Leiothrichidae) and a proposal for a revised taxonomy | journal=Zoologica Scripta | volume=47 | issue=4 | pages=428–440 | doi=10.1111/zsc.12296 | s2cid=51883434 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2019 | title=Laughingthrushes and allies | work=World Bird List Version 9.1 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/laughingthrushes/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=20 January 2019 }}</ref>

There are several named geographically isolated subspecies that show plumage shade differences.<ref name=postilla>{{cite journal|author=Ripley, S Dillon |year=1958|title= Indian Birds. VII. |journal=Postilla |volume=35|pages=1–12|url=https://archive.org/stream/postilla150peab#page/n340/mode/1up/}}</ref> Former race ''rufescens'' of Sri Lanka is considered a full species. The widely accepted subspecies include:
* ''A. s. striata'' (Dumont de Sainte Croix, 1823) which is found over much of northern India south of the Himalayan foothills extending to [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[Assam]], [[Odisha]] and northeastern [[Andhra Pradesh]]. The form found in parts of Odisha, ''orissae'', is said to be more rufous above and is usually subsumed into this.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ripley, S. Dillon |year=1969|title= The name of the Jungle Babbler ''Turdoides striatus'' (Aves) from Orissa. |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=66|issue=1|pages=167–168|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47961252}}</ref>
* ''A. s. sindiana'' (Ticehurst, 1920) is a paler desert form that is found in the [[Indus River]] plains of [[Pakistan]] and extends into [[Rajasthan]] and the [[Rann of Kutch]] in India.
* ''A. s. somervillei'' (Sykes, 1832) is found in the northern [[Western Ghats]].
* ''A. s. malabarica'' (Jerdon, 1845) is found in the southern Western Ghats.
* ''A. s. orientalis'' (Jerdon, 1845) is found in peninsular India east of the Western Ghats.

Some older literature can be confusing due to some incorrect usage, such as with Whistler (1944, ''Spolia Zeylanica'', 23:131), who used the name ''affinis'' which is a completely different species, ''[[Turdoides affinis]]'', restricted to peninsular India. Although the two can sometimes be confused in poor lighting conditions, their calls are entirely different.<ref name=hbk/><ref name=postilla/>

==Description==
[[File:Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striatus) in Kawal, AP W IMG 1953.jpg|thumb|left|Adult ssp. ''orientalis'' in Kawal, A.P., [[India]].]]
The jungle babbler's habitat is [[forest]] and [[Tillage|cultivation]]. This [[species]], like most babblers, is non-[[bird migration|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 babbler]]s of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The upper parts are usually slightly darker in shade and there is some mottling on the throat and breast. Subspecies ''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.<ref name=hbk>{{cite book|author1=Ali, S |author2=S D Ripley| title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan|edition=2nd|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume= 6|year= 1996 |pages =224–230 }}</ref>

The jungle babbler lives in flocks of seven to ten or more. It is a noisy bird, and the presence of a flock may generally be known at some distance by the harsh mewing calls, continual chattering, squeaking and chirping produced by its members.

==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:A Pair of Jungle Babblers.jpg|thumb|right|A pair from [[Western Ghats]] [[allopreening]] after a [[monsoon]] rain ]]
Jungle babblers are gregarious and very social. They sometimes form the core of a [[mixed-species foraging flock]].<ref name=pcr>{{cite book|author1=Rasmussen, PC |author2=JC Anderton|year=2005|title= Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide.|publisher= Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions|volume=2|pages=445–446}}</ref> They feed mainly on insects, but also eat grains, nectar and berries.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Food habits of jungle babbler ''Turdoides striatus'' (Dumont) and its role in the ecosystem|journal=Indian Journal of Ecology |volume=13|issue=1|pages=38–45| year=1986|author1=Narang, ML |author2=Lamba, BS}}</ref> The groups maintain territories and will defend them against neighbours, which are nevertheless sometimes tolerated.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gaston, AJ |year=1978|title= The Evolution of Group Territorial Behavior and Cooperative Breeding. |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=112|issue=988|pages=1091–1100|doi=10.1086/283348|s2cid=84022037}}</ref> For their size, they are long lived and have been noted to live as long as 16.5 years in captivity.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Flower SS |year=1938|title= Further notes on the duration of life in animals. IV. Birds |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Series A |pages=195–235 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1938.tb07895.x |volume=A108}}</ref>

When foraging, some birds take up a high vantage point and act as sentinels. They are known to gather and [[mobbing behavior|mob]] potential predators such as snakes.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Devasahayam, S |author2=Devasahayam, Anita |year=1991|title= Aggressive behaviour of Jungle Babblers ''Turdoides striatus'' (Dumont) towards a snake.|journal= J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume=88|issue=2|page=288|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48673710}}</ref> A study of their activity budget showed them to have greater similarity to social primates than to comparable birds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yambem |first=Soniya Devi |last2=Jain |first2=Manjari |date=2023 |title=Temporal variation in the behaviour of a cooperatively breeding bird, Jungle Babbler (Argya striata) |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s42965-022-00254-w |journal=Tropical Ecology |language=en |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=133–145 |doi=10.1007/s42965-022-00254-w |issn=0564-3295|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Young birds have a dark [[Iris (anatomy)|iris]]. Older birds have an iris of a pale creamy colour and it has been found that the iris has a dark epithelium, which becomes invisible when the muscle fibres develop in the iris and make the dark basal colours invisible and thus appear cream-coloured.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Andrew MI |author2=RM Naik |year=1965|title= Structural basis of the change of eye colour of the Jungle Babbler, ''Turdoides striatus'' (Dumont), during post-embryonic development. |journal=Pavo |volume=3|pages=72–74}}</ref>

They breed throughout the year, with peak breeding in northern India being noted between March–April and July–September. Birds reach [[sexual maturity]] after their third year.<ref name=demog/> The nest is built halfway up in a tree, concealed in dense masses of foliage. The normal clutch is three or four (but can be up to seven) deep greenish blue eggs. In northern India, birds breeding during July–September tend to be [[Parasitism|parasitized]] by the [[Clamator jacobinus|pied crested cuckoo]] and sometimes by the [[common hawk-cuckoo]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gaston, A. J.|year=1976|title=Brood parasitism by the Pied Crested Cuckoo ''Clamator jacobinus''.|journal= Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=45|pages=331–48|doi=10.2307/3878|issue=2|jstor=3878}}</ref> [[Helpers at the nest|Helpers]] assist the parents in feeding the young. Post fledging survival is very high.<ref name=demog>{{cite journal|author=Gaston, AJ|year=1978|title=Demography of the Jungle Babbler, ''Turdoides striatus''|journal= Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=47|issue=3|pages=845–870|doi=10.2307/3675|jstor=3675}}</ref>
[[File:WikipediaBroodParasitism.webm|thumb|alt=brood parasitism|Parasitised jungle babblers feeding a common hawk-cuckoo.]]
Birds fledge and females tend to leave their natal group after about two years.<ref name=demog/> Birds within a group often indulge in [[allopreening]], play chases and mock fights.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gaston, A. J. |year=1977|title=Social behaviour within groups of jungle babblers ''Turdoides striatus'' |journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=25|issue=828–848|doi=10.1016/0003-3472(77)90036-7|pages=828–848|s2cid=53146659}}</ref> When threatened by predators, they have been said to sometimes [[Thanatosis|feign death]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Neelakantan, KK |year=1957|title= Hypnotic behaviour of a White-headed Babbler (''Turdoides striatus'')|journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume= 54|issue=2|pages=460–461|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48183144}} (Note: the reference uses the binomial of the jungle babbler)</ref>

==In culture==
Jungle babblers are very common near towns and cities, particularly in northern India. They are well known for their habit of moving in groups, which has earned them the local [[Hindi-Urdu]] name ''Sat Bhai'' (meaning "seven brethren"); in [[Indian English]], however, this is often translated as the "Seven Sisters".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/popularhandbooko033226mbp#page/n73/mode/1up/|author=Whistler, Hugh|year=1949|title=Popular handbook of Indian birds|pages=40–43|edition=4th| publisher=Gurney and Jackson, London}}</ref> Visitors to India are very likely to notice these vocal and active birds, and [[Frank Finn]] notes an incident during the colonial period in India:

{{blockquote|Some years back, a new [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy]] was being shown the wonders of his temporary kingdom, and among these the [[Taj Mahal|Taj]] at [[Agra]] held, of course, an important place. Arrived before the glorious monument of Eastern love and pride, the artless [[Aide-de-camp|Aide-de-Camp]] was mute; the gilded [[Staff (military)|staff]] were still as [[Rudyard Kipling|Kipling]] says, in anxious expectation of the comment of [[Excellency|His Excellency]]. But this, alas when it came was merely the remark: "What are those funny little birds?" The shock must have been the greater for the fact that the mean fowls thus honoured were it seems, of that singularly disreputable species which is commonly known in India as the "Seven Sisters" or "Seven Brothers," or by the Hindustani equivalent of ''sat-bhai''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Finn, Frank|year=1904|title= The Birds of Calcutta|publisher=Thacker, Spink and Co.|url=https://archive.org/details/birdsofcalcutta00finnrich}}</ref>}}

The Indian folklorist [[Saratcandra Mitra]] recorded a belief among the Lushai-Kuki people that during a solar eclipse, humans could transform into jungle babblers.<ref>{{cite journal|pages=150–151|title=Studies in bird-myths, No XXIV-on a Lushai-Kuki aetiological myth about the Jungle babbler|journal=Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society|volume=19|issue=2| year=1928|author=Mitra, S.C.}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Jungle babbler in Chandigarh.jpg|Jungle babbler in Chandigarh.
File:Jungle Babbler about to take off.jpg|Jungle babbler
File:Jungle Babbler 1.jpg|Subspecies ''malabarica''
File:A Jungle babbler.jpg|A jungle babbler, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
File:Jungle Babbler by Nabarun.jpg|Nominate race from [[Kolkata]] [[allopreening]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Argya striata}}
{{Wikispecies|Turdoides striata}}
* {{cite journal | author = Andrews MI, Naik RM | year = 1965 | title = Some observations on flocks of the Jungle Babbler ''Turdoides striatus'' (Dumont) during winter | journal = Pavo | volume = 3 | pages = 47–54 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Naik RM, Andrews MI | year = 1966 | title = Pterylosis, age determination and moult in the jungle babbler | journal = Pavo | volume = 4 | issue = 1–2| pages = 48–57 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Andrews MI, Naik RM | year = 1966 | title = The body weight and the thyroid and gonadal cycles of the jungle babbler | journal = Pavo | volume = 4 | issue = 1&2| pages = 48–57 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Andrews MI, Naik RM | year = 1972 | title = The biology of the jungle babbler | journal = Pavo | volume = 8 | issue = 1&2| pages = 1–34 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Rana BD | year = 1972 | title = Some observations on food of the Jungle Babbler, ''Turdoides striatus'', and the Common Babbler, ''Turdoides caudatus'' in the Rajasthan Desert, India | journal = Pavo | volume = 8 | issue = 1&2| pages = 35–44 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Rana DB | year = 1985 | title = Abnormality in the testis of ''Streptopelia decaocto'' and ''Turdoides striatus'' in the Rajasthan desert | journal = Pavo | volume = 23 | issue = 1&2| pages = 101–102 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Suresh PK, Chaturvedi CM | year = 1986 | title = Annual endocrine cycles in male babbler, ''Turdoides somerveillei'' | journal = Pavo | volume = 24 | issue = 1&2| pages = 43–54 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Parasharya BM | year = 1986 | title = Early breeding date of Jungle Babbler in Gujarat | journal = Pavo | volume = 24 | issue = 1–2| pages = 117–118 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Inglis CM | year = 1936 | title = The Bengal Jungle Babbler or "Seven Sisters," ''Turdoides terricolor terricolor'' (Hodgson) | journal = J. Darjeeling Nat. Hist. Soc. | volume = 10 | issue = 4| pages = 117–123 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Ali S | year = 1974 | title = Jungle Babblers at Pali Hills, Bandra, Bombay 400050 | url = https://archive.org/stream/NLBW14#page/n75/mode/1up/ | journal = [[Newsletter for Birdwatchers]] | volume = 14 | issue = 11| pages = 5–6 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Ray-Chaudhuri R., Sharma T., Ray-Chaudhuri S. P. | year = 1969 | title = A comparative study of the chromosomes of birds | journal = Chromosoma | volume = 26 | issue = 2| pages = 148–168 | doi = 10.1007/BF00326452 | s2cid = 33927856 }}

==External links==
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/jungle-babbler-turdoides-striata Jungle babbler videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection.
* [http://nagpurbirds.org/displayimage.php?album=188&pos=7 Photo of a leucistic individual]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q62098182|from2=Q2672674}}

[[Category:Argya|jungle babbler]]
[[Category:Birds of South Asia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1823|jungle babbler]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Dumont de Sainte-Croix|jungle babbler]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN]]

Jungle babbler - Revision history

Eldarmrk at 08:57, 27 January 2026