Passeriformes / Paradoxornithidae / Chrysomma
Yellow-eyed Babbler
Chrysomma sinense · 金眼鹛雀
Introduction
A passerine bird native to South and Southeast Asia, inhabiting shrubland, grassland, and wetland habitats. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide distribution and stable population.
Description
Approximately 18 cm (7.1 in) long with a short bill and a long graduated tail where central feathers are twice as long as the outermost. Upperparts are brown, wings cinnamon-colored, and underparts whitish buff. Loress and supercilium are white; adult eye-rims are orange-yellow. The beak is black. Sexes are indistinguishable. Subspecies vary: the Sri Lankan population has black nostrils and a stouter bill, while the Indian population is paler with yellow nostrils.
Distribution & Habitat
Range extends from Pakistan through India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and China. Found in grassy or thorny scrub in dry and wet regions, farmland, plains, and lower hills up to 1200 m. Absent in dense Western Ghats forests, occurring only on eastern edges or gaps.
Behavior & Ecology
Seen in small groups of 5–15, foraging inside bushes by emerging to stem tops and diving back. Feeds mainly on insects, holding them with feet, but also takes berries (Lantana, Salvadora) and nectar. Vocalizations include constant cheeping or churring; breeding song is a strong whistling 'twee-twee-ta-whit-chu'. Nests cooperatively in deep cone-shaped structures of grass and fine fiber wedged between upright stems and covered in cobwebs. Clutch size is 3–5 pinkish-white eggs with chestnut-red patches. Incubation lasts 15–16 days; fledging occurs after ~13 days. Both parents care for young. Adults feign injury to distract predators. Roosts communally in bush centers, facing same direction. Territorial displays involve simultaneous head-bobbing while perched tall.
Culture
Known in parts of northern India as gulab chashm, meaning 'yellow spectacles', and was sometimes kept as a cagebird.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paradoxornithidae
- Genus
- Chrysomma
Vocalizations
Subspecies (3)
-
Chrysomma sinense hypoleucum
eastern Pakistan to peninsular India, Bangladesh, and western Myanmar
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
