Thai National Parks

The pin-striped tit-babbler (Mixornis gularis), also known as the yellow-breasted babbler, is a species of Old World babbler found in South and Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy and systematics

The species has since been included in the genus Mixornis following an analysis of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes that showed that the genus was not monophyletic. The pin-striped tit-babbler now belongs within a clade that includes the genera Dumetia, Timalia and Rhopocichla.

The species has also been split following a study by Nigel Collar to distinguish the morphologically distinct Bornean and Javan populations, which have since been renamed the bold-striped tit-babbler (Mixornis bornensis), from the rest of the pin-striped tit-babbler species complex.

Several populations are recognized including:

• M. g. rubicapilla - India and Bangladesh
• M. g. ticehursti – western Myanmar
• M. g. sulphureus – southeastern Myanmar to Yunnan
• M. g. lutescens – northeastern Myanmar to Laos and northern Vietnam
• M. g. kinneari – central Annam
• M. g. saraburiensis – central Thailand and western Cambodia
• M. g. versuricola – eastern Cambodia and south Vietnam
• M. g. condorensis – Con Son Island
• M. g. connectens – extreme south of Myanmar and nearby Thailand
• M. g. archipelagicus – Mergui Archipelago
• M. g. inveteratus – eastern Thailand and adjacent Cambodia
• M. g. chersonesophilus – southern Thailand and northern Peninsular Malaysia
• M. g. gularis – Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra
• M. g. woodi – Palawan and Balabac islands

Description

The species has a distinctive yellowish supercilium and rufous crown. The throat is yellowish with brown streaks. Call is a loud repeated chonk-chonk-chonk-chonk-chonk somewhat reminiscent of a common tailorbird.

They forage in small flocks and creep and clamber in low vegetation. They breed in the pre-monsoon season from February to July and build a loose ball shaped nest made from grasses and leaves.

Distribution

The species is widely distributed and is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In India, there are disjunct populations in southern India. This population was recorded by Salim Ali from Antharasanthe near the Kabini reservoir. There were no records of the species from this area after the initial collection. The southern population was rediscovered from the Masinagudi area in Mudumalai in 2004.

Other populations are found in the northern Eastern Ghats.

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