Chestnut-capped Babbler (Timalia pileata)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Chestnut-capped Babbler

Timalia pileata Horsfield, 1821

≈15 cmLength16 gWeight

This brown bird has a chestnut crown, black mask, white forehead and white supercilium.

Busiest months: February–March · Most records: Thailand, Cambodia, India

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Chestnut crown
  2. Black mask
  3. White forehead and supercilium
  4. Thick black bill and a rather long, wedge-shaped tail

Male, female and young

Sexes have similar plumage; male is slightly larger, with a red iris, while female has a black iris.

Where and when it's recorded

Chestnut-capped Babbler has been recorded at 211 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 10 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Khon Kaen University – WTPThailand423 records
  2. Maguri BeelIndia375 records
  3. Hun Sen BoulevardCambodia345 records
More places
  1. Nam Kham Nature ReserveThailand297 records
  2. TmatboeyCambodia269 records
  3. Kaziranga NP & Surroundings – Central RangeIndia244 records
  4. Chitwan National ParkNepal191 records
  5. Wat Champouh K'aekCambodia189 records
  6. Phnom Krom – rice fieldsCambodia188 records
  7. Kaziranga NP & SurroundingsIndia175 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ThailandCambodiaIndiaNepalVietnamChinaMyanmar (Burma)Laos

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The chestnut-capped babbler (Timalia pileata) is a passerine bird of the family Timaliidae. It is monotypic within the genus Timalia.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Chestnut-capped Babbler?

The Chestnut-capped Babbler is about ≈15 cm long and weighs around 16 g.

Where does the Chestnut-capped Babbler live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Nepal through Southeast Asia; Java. It is most often recorded in Thailand, Cambodia and India.

When is the best time to see the Chestnut-capped Babbler?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February and March (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Chestnut-capped Babbler endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Chestnut-capped Babbler as Least Concern.

What does the Chestnut-capped Babbler eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Chestnut-capped Babbler in?

It belongs to the family Babblers, Scimitar Babblers (Timaliidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈15 cm
Weight
16 g
Habitat
Shrubland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
66 mm
Tail
75 mm
Bill
16 mm
Tarsus
22 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: Nepal through Southeast Asia; Java

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Timalia pileata smithi e Myanmar, nw Thailand and s China to n, c Indochina

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Genus
Timalia

More from the family Babblers, Scimitar Babblers

Tawny-bellied BabblerTawny-bellied BabblerDumetia hyperythraDark-fronted BabblerDark-fronted BabblerDumetia atricepsGrey-faced Tit-BabblerGrey-faced Tit-BabblerMixornis kelleyiGrey-cheeked Tit-BabblerGrey-cheeked Tit-BabblerMixornis flavicollisKangean Tit-BabblerKangean Tit-BabblerMixornis prillwitziPin-striped Tit-BabblerPin-striped Tit-BabblerMixornis gularisBold-striped Tit-BabblerBold-striped Tit-BabblerMixornis bornensisFluffy-backed Tit-BabblerFluffy-backed Tit-BabblerMacronus ptilosusBrown Tit-BabblerBrown Tit-BabblerMacronus striaticepsGolden BabblerGolden BabblerCyanoderma chrysaeum
Chestnut-capped Babbler

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by peterchristiaen. ↗

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