The Orange-billed Babbler, Turdoides rufescens, also known as Ceylon Rufous Babbler or Sri Lankan Rufous Babbler is an Old World babbler. The Old World babblers are a large family of Old World passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in southeast Asia. The Orange-billed Babbler is a resident breeding bird endemic to Sri Lanka. In the past, it was considered to be a race of Jungle Babbler, Turdoides striatus. This bird is sometimes referred as ‘Ceylon Rufous Babbler’ in outdated literature. In Sri Lanka, this bird is knowns as Rathu Demalichcha (translates to ‘Red Babbler’) in Sinhala Language. This bird appears in a 10rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp.
Identification
These birds are plain orange brown below, and have a slightly darker shade above. The crown and nape are grey, and the bill is orange. Sexes similar.
Behaviour
It is fairly common, living in flocks of seven to ten or more. It is a noisy bird, and the presence of a flock may generally be known at some distance by the continual chattering, squeaking and chirping with which its members converse together. It feeds mainly on insects, but doubtless eats also many jungle berries. The nest is concealed in dense masses of foliage in thick forest. They lay two o three eggs, measure about 24.2×18 mm. The eggs are deep greenish blue in colour.
Locations
It is a forest bird, seldom seen away from deep jungle. It occurs in all forests of the wet zone and in the hills to the highest elevations. It is quite common at prime sites like Kitulgala and Sinharaja.
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