Fun Jungle Babbler Facts For Kids

The jungle babbler (Turdoides striata) is a species of Old World babblers. These Old World babblers are part of the Old World passerine birds with soft and fluffy plumage. Found in Southeast Asia, the jungle babbler has five known subspecies currently. The population of all the subspecies is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent. The orange-billed babbler of Sri Lanka was earlier considered a subspecies of these small birds, however, the bird from Sri Lanka is now known to be a separate species.

Groups of these birds are always seen in a flock of six to 10 birds. This behavior has made people of North India give the name 'Seven Sisters' to the jungle babbler. The Bengali name for this same group is 'Saath bhai' which translates to 'seven brothers'. The calls of these birds are quite loud and the presence of flocks of babblers can easily be recognized by the noisy sound they make. Calls are easily heard when flocks are nearby with a distinctive wheezy chatter with a mix of harsh notes. The white-headed babbler however has high-pitched calls in contrast to the harsh nasal calls of the jungle babbler.

This species of bird can easily be distinguished by the brownish-gray plumage and the distinctive yellow bill. The upper parts are darker in color and some form of mottling can be seen on the breast and throat. A subspecies found in Maharashtra can be seen with a rufous tail and dark primary flight feathers. These non-migratory birds of the genus can be differentiated from white-headed babblers by the dark loreal area between the bill and the eye. It also lacks a contrasting light crown.

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What type of animal is a jungle babbler?

The jungle babbler is a species of the genus Turdoides of the family Leiothrichidae found in South Asia.

What class of animal does a jungle babbler belong to?

The birds belong to the class of Aves in the kingdom of Animalia.

How many jungle babblers are there in the world?

The population of the bird species is not known. The area of occurrence of the bird is estimated to be around 1776069.9 sq mi (4,600,000 sq km). There is no immediate danger to the numbers of this bird and it is quite abundantly found in the world.

Where does a jungle babbler live?

The jungle babbler (Turdoides striata) is found only on the Indian subcontinent. The striata is found south of the Himalayan foothills extending to Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bhutan, and northeastern Andhra Pradesh. Sindiana is found in the Indus River plains of Pakistan and the range extends into Rajasthan. Somervillei is seen in the northern Western Ghats whereas Malabarica is found in the southern Western Ghats. Orientalis is seen in the peninsular India east of the Western Ghats.

What is a jungle babbler's habitat?

The jungle babbler (Turdoides striata) is a common resident breeding bird species living in gardens in large cities and also sometimes in forested areas on the Indian subcontinent. However, this bird species is less common within deep forests. In North India, the birds are found in towns and cities and seen moving in groups.

Who do jungle babblers live with?

These birds are always seen in a group of six to 10 birds. They always fly in small flocks.

How long does a jungle babbler live?

These are long-lived birds and have been known to live up to 17 years in captivity.

How do they reproduce?

The jungle babbler is known to breed the whole year-round. The peak breeding season in North India is seen to be between March to April and July to September. The species reaches sexual maturity after the third year. Nests are concealed in dense areas of foliage, mostly halfway in trees. The usual clutch is three to four eggs. However, sometimes seven deep greenish-blue eggs are also seen. Parents are helped by the helpers in the group while feeding.

Females leave the natal group after about two years.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the jungle babbler is categorized as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. The population is known to be quite large and widespread and there is no current threat to the species.

There are minor threats of predators like snakes, however, they doen't affect the large population of the jungle babbler too much.

What do jungle babblers look like?

The plumage of brownish-gray is seen in both sexes of the jungle babbler. Identification of the bird is marked by short rounded wings and a weak flight. The brownish-gray coloration and the yellow bill make it similar to the yellow-billed babbler, endemic to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Upperparts of the jungle babbler are a little darker in color and some mottling can be seen on the throat and breast.

Differentiation between the jungle babbler and the white-headed babbler can be seen with the dark loreal zone between the bill and the eye of the former bird along with no contrasting light crown.

Also, the large grey babbler is found in similar areas, however, with a long tail and white outer tail feathers.

How cute are they?

They are considered quite cute.

How do they communicate?

These birds have loud harsh calls. The presence of flocks of these birds can be heard over a distance by their harsh mewing calls, continuous chattering, squeaking, and chirping. The flock is however not that large with just seven to 10 birds. They are quite noisy.

How big is a jungle babbler?

The size of the bird species is not known.

How fast can a jungle babbler fly?

This bird with short rounded wings has a weak flight. The bird does not cover a long distance in flight. The speed is not known.

How much does a jungle babbler weigh?

The weight is not known.

What are the male and female names of the species?

Males and females are not given different names.

What would you call a baby jungle babbler?

A baby jungle babbler is called young or a chick.  

What do they eat?

Usually, a jungle babbler feeds on insects, berries, and grains. However, some species of this bird will also feed on nectar and insects, along with fruit, seeds, frogs, and reptiles depending on the habitat the bird resides in.

Some birds in this species travel to higher ground for a proper vantage point and act as sentinels during foraging. They gather and mob predators like snakes. When threatened by predators, the bird species is known to play dead sometimes.

Are they friendly?

They are quite sociable and are fond of company. They are always found in flocks.

Would they make a good pet?

They are not usually considered as pets.

Did you know...

Common predators of babblers include different mammals, reptiles like snakes, and birds of prey like hawks and eagles.

The jungle babbler sound is quite loud and noisy with a harsh-sounding call. It is quite different from other species. Groups of this bird are called 'Seven Sisters'.

What is the jungle babbler's nickname in India?

In North India, flocks of the bird are called 'Seven Sisters' as they are always together and in a group of seven to 10. In another language of India, Bengali, the group is also called 'Saath bhai' or 'seven brothers'.

Do babblers migrate?

No, they do not migrate.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these black-capped chickadee facts and killdeer facts for kids!

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable jungle babbler coloring pages.