Brown-cheeked Fulvetta

Overview

The brown-cheeked fulvetta, scientifically known as Alcippe poioicephala, is a small, dull-coloured bird belonging to the family Leiothrichidae. It is a resident breeding bird found in the forests of South and Southeast Asia and was formerly referred to as the quaker babbler in India.

Identification

• Small, dull-coloured bird measuring 15 cm from beak to tail tip, with brownish wings, a buff underside, and a grey crown that may lack demarcation in the nominate subspecies.
• Features a short, weak grey bill with a curved upper mandible and the genus characteristic of the bill being widest at the long nostrils, which are covered by a membrane.
• Loud, multi-note whistling calls heard in the morning and afternoon that can be mistaken for those of a magpie robin or puff-throated babbler.

Habitat

This species inhabits moist deciduous and evergreen forests, particularly in hilly areas. Its distribution is wide, covering peninsular India, regions east of the Brahmaputra river, and extending into Southeast Asia.

Diet

The bird forages on trees for insects, sometimes dangling below branches in a tit-like manner, and also visits flowers for nectar. It often forages in loose flocks and is noted as a dominant member of mixed-species foraging flocks in Malayan forests.

Did you know?

It has been suggested that the loud calls of the brown-cheeked fulvetta help organise mixed-species foraging flocks, with the species acting as a dominant member in Malayan forests.