Arrow-marked Babbler
Turdoides jardineii
Mixed bushveld and thickets. Above dark brown; breast grey-brown; belly tawny; white arrow marks all over; eyes orange with red eye-rings; bill and legs black.
Babblers
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common resident. Told by call and whitish, arrow-like streaks above and below; cf. [Hartlaub’s Babbler], which has scale-like markings and a white rump. Immature lacks the arrow marks but is usually seen with adults. The call is an excitable whirring started by one bird and taken up by all the others until it resembles hysterical giggling. The basic sound is ‘scurr-scurr-scurr…’, more mechanical than the Green Wood Hoopoe. Occurs in parties of six to 10 birds within thickets in woodland, mixed bushveld, wooded hillsides, plus suburbia in Zimbabwe. Usually in the lower stratum, calling frequently.
Quick Facts
Size
23-25 cm - M
Names
A: Pylvlekkatlagter
Z: iHelkehle
Ss: Sekganoha
G: Braundroßling
Bird Family
Insectivorous, thrush-like terrestrial birds of gregarious habits and with distinctive babbling calls. Sexes are alike.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Occurs in parties of six to 10 birds within thickets in woodland, mixed bushveld, wooded hillsides, plus suburbia in Zimbabwe.
