Old World babbler
# Old World babbler

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).

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.

## Characteristics

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.

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.

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.

## Taxonomy and systematics

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).

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:

The cladogram below shows the relationships between the genera. These were determined in the same study by Cai and collaborators.

### List of genera

The family as currently constituted includes 58 species divided into the following ten genera:

| Genus | Living species |
| - | - |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Spelaeornis David & 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 |
| 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 |
| Cyanoderma Salvadori, 1874 | 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 |
| Dumetia Blyth, 1852 | Tawny-bellied babbler, Dumetia hyperythra Dark-fronted babbler, Dumetia atriceps |
| 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 |
| Macronus Jardine & Selby, 1835 – tit-babblers | Brown tit-babbler, Macronus striaticeps Fluffy-backed tit-babbler, Macronus ptilosus |
| Timalia Horsfield, 1821 | Chestnut-capped babbler, Timalia pileata |
| Melanocichla Sharpe, 1883 | Black laughingthrush, Melanocichla lugubris Bare-headed laughingthrush, Melanocichla calva |
