Rufous-capped Babbler (Cyanoderma ruficeps)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Rufous-capped Babbler

Cyanoderma ruficeps (Blyth, 1847)

12 cmLength10 gWeight

This small pale olive bird has a bright rufous crown and nape.

Busiest months: December–January and March–April · Most records: China, Vietnam, Bhutan

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Bright rufous crown and nape
  2. Pale olive body
  3. Paler throat

Where and when it's recorded

Rufous-capped Babbler has been recorded at 530 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Taipei – Tianliaoyang WetlandTaiwan (China)3,195 records
  2. Tai Po Kau Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)1,735 records
  3. Nantou – Meifeng Highland Experimental Farm of NTUTaiwan (China)1,474 records
More places
  1. Taipei – Gongliao Dexin TempleTaiwan (China)1,259 records
  2. Nantou – Xitou Nature Education AreaTaiwan (China)1,236 records
  3. Yilan – Dingliao Ecological ParkTaiwan (China)1,080 records
  4. Dasyueshan IBA – Hengliu Creek (15K)Taiwan (China)855 records
  5. Lam Tsuen ValleyHong Kong (China)736 records
  6. Tai Lam Country ParkHong Kong (China)716 records
  7. Taichung – Taichung Metropolitan ParkTaiwan (China)703 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaVietnamBhutanLaosIndiaCambodiaMyanmar (Burma)

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 rufous-capped babbler (Cyanoderma ruficeps) is a babbler species in the family Timaliidae. It occurs from the Eastern Himalayas to northern Thailand, Laos, eastern China to Vietnam and Taiwan (China). It inhabits temperate forest with dense bushes or bamboo and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

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

Questions

How big is the Rufous-capped Babbler?

The Rufous-capped Babbler is about 12 cm long and weighs around 10 g.

Where does the Rufous-capped Babbler live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Tibet to south-central Vietnam, Taiwan (China). It is most often recorded in China, Vietnam and Bhutan.

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

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

Is the Rufous-capped Babbler endangered?

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

What does the Rufous-capped Babbler eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Rufous-capped Babbler in?

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

At a glance

Length
12 cm
Weight
10 g
Habitat
Shrubland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
55 mm
Tail
47 mm
Bill
15 mm
Tarsus
20 mm

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

Range

Oriental: Tibet to south-central Vietnam, Taiwan (China)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 4
  • Cyanoderma ruficeps bhamoense ne Myanmar and sw China
  • Cyanoderma ruficeps davidi c, e, s China and n Indochina
  • Cyanoderma ruficeps praecognitum Taiwan (China)
  • Cyanoderma ruficeps goodsoni Hainan I. (off se China)

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Genus
Cyanoderma

Other birds in the genus Cyanoderma

Golden BabblerGolden BabblerCyanoderma chrysaeumChestnut-winged BabblerChestnut-winged BabblerCyanoderma erythropterumBicolored BabblerBicolored BabblerCyanoderma bicolorCrescent-chested BabblerCrescent-chested BabblerCyanoderma melanothoraxBlack-chinned BabblerBlack-chinned BabblerCyanoderma pyrrhopsRufous-fronted BabblerRufous-fronted BabblerCyanoderma rufifronsChestnut-capped BabblerChestnut-capped BabblerTimalia pileataTawny-bellied BabblerTawny-bellied BabblerDumetia hyperythraDark-fronted BabblerDark-fronted BabblerDumetia atricepsGrey-faced Tit-BabblerGrey-faced Tit-BabblerMixornis kelleyi
Rufous-capped Babbler

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

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