Jungle Babbler

About the Jungle Babbler

The jungle babbler (Argya striata) is a member of the family Leiothrichidae found in the Indian subcontinent. Jungle babblers are gregarious birds that forage in small groups of six to ten birds, a habit that has given them the popular name of "seven sisters" in urban Northern India, and (seven brothers) in Bengali, with cognates in other regional languages which also mean "seven brothers".

The jungle babbler is a common resident breeding bird in most parts of the Indian subcontinent and is often seen in gardens within large cities as well as in forested areas. In the past, the orange-billed babbler Argya rufescens of Sri Lanka was considered to be a subspecies of jungle babbler, but has now been elevated to a species.

The jungle babbler was described by the French zoologist Charles Dumont de Sainte Croix in 1823, based on specimens from Bengal. He coined the binomial name Cossyphus striatus. This babbler was formerly placed in the genus Turdoides but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Argya.

There are several named geographically isolated subspecies that show plumage shade differences... Wikipedia →