Brown-cheeked Fulvetta
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| Brown-cheeked Fulvetta | ||||||||||||||
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| Alcippe poioicephala (Jerdon, 1844) |
The Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Alcippe poioicephala, is an Old World babbler. It was earlier also known as the Quaker Babbler. The Old World babblers are a large family of passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in southeast Asia.
The Brown-cheeked Fulvetta is a resident breeding bird in India and Southeast Asia. Its habitat is undergrowth in moist forests and scrub jungle. This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight.
This babbler builds its nest in a tree, concealed in dense masses of foliage. The normal clutch is two or three eggs.
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta measures 15cm including its longish tail. It is brown above and buff, with no patterning on the body or wings. The crown is grey, and the cheeks are dark.
Brown-cheeked Fulvettas have short dark bills. Their food is mainly insects and nectar. They can be difficult to observe in the dense vegetation they prefer, but like other babblers, these are vocal birds, and their characteristic calls are often the best indication that these birds are present.
Reference
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6