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Species
Pomatostomus temporalis Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Nomenclature
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Family: PomatostomidaeGenus: Pomatostomus
Species:
Pomatostomus temporalis Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Usage:
valid
Vernacular names:
Vernacular name:
Grey-crowned Babbler, Grey-crowned Chatterer; Red-breasted/Rufousbreasted
Babbler (rubeculus)
Media
SUMMARY
The Grey-crowned Babbler is the largest of Australia's four babbler species. It is dark brown-grey above, with a distinctive grey crown stripe and a dark face mask that contrasts with a white eyebrow. The chin and throat are white, running into a pale grey lower breast. It has a long, curved bill, short rounded wings with cinnamon brown wing patches and a long tail tipped white. The eye is pale yellow in adults. There is a darker-coloured subspecies, rubeculus, in north-western Australia (often called the Red-breasted Babbler), that has a rufous lower breast and darker crown stripe. The Grey-crowned Babbler is a noisy and gregarious bird, usually found in small groups of four to twelve, and is often seen on the ground or in low trees.