Pomatostomus superciliosus
| White-browed babbler | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pomatostomidae |
| Genus: | Pomatostomus |
| Species: | P. superciliosus |
| Binomial name | |
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Pomatostomus superciliosus (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) |
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The white-browed babbler (Pomatostomus superciliosus) is a small, gregarious species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae. They are endemic to the open woodlands and shrubby areas of central and southern Australia. The Latin name superciliosus refers to the supercilium or ‘eyebrow’, which is a feature synonymous with the pomatostomine babblers (Hall’s babbler, chestnut-crowned babbler, grey-crowned babbler and white-browed babbler).
Ranging from 17 cm to 21 cm in length the white-browed babbler is the smallest of the Australian babblers. It is a medium-sized terrestrial bird with a long and decurved bill. The wings are short and rounded in shape adjoining to a plump, full body which is similar, but slightly smaller than the chestnut-crowned or Hall’s babbler. The tail is long and graduated ending with a rounded tip. The gregarious nature of this species means that the tail is often fanned or raised or any mix of the two. There are many variations to colour, however the adult babbler generally varies from a dark grey-brown to solid dark brown with distinguished white supercilium and dark brown eye stripe. The underside is usually lighter in colour, varying from light grey or white to light brown, sometimes lighter for females, but generally sexes are similar. Juvenile individuals often have more pronounced dark plumage with a chestnut or cinnamon motif, especially on the underside. Breeding adult males may sometimes have a more pronounced brown ‘cap’ compared to females or juvenile individuals.
Hall's babbler is the species most often confused with the white-browed babbler because of their similarity in size, the two can best be distinguished by comparing the supercilium. Hall’s babbler has a narrow and very dark brown crown-stripe with a much broader, vivid white supercilium. Secondly, Hall’s babbler does not have a ‘fading’ eye-stripe towards the rear of the head where there is more chestnut brown colouration. Individuals will have vivid colouration on the face and will never have a white dot under the eye which is sometimes present in the white-browed babbler. The tail will also have a square edge rather than a round edge which the white-browed babbler would have, however this feature is sometimes not as reliable in juvenile individuals.
Chestnut-crowned babblers are most easily defined by the colour of their cap and wing patterns. They have a much lighter ‘chestnut’ coloured cap and distinct double white wing-bars across coverts.
The grey-crowned babbler is significantly larger than its white-browed counterpart. Their size means that to conserve energy their wing beat pattern changes to a more sporadic flapping and gliding rather than even and fast wing beats.
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Wikipedia