Thepin-striped tit-babbler (Mixornis gularis), also known as theyellow-breasted babbler, is a species of bird in theOld World babbler familyTimaliidae that is found inSouth andSoutheast Asia.
The pin-striped tit-babbler wasformally described in 1822 by the American naturalistThomas Horsfield based on a specimen collected inSumatra. He coined thebinomial nameTimalia gularis.[2][3] The pin-striped tit-babbler was formerly placed in the genusMacronus but based on the results of a largemolecular phylogenetic study published in 2019,[4] the species was moved to the genusMixornis that had been introduced in 1842 by the English zoologistEdward Blyth.[5][6] The genus name combines theAncient Greekmixis meaning "mixed" or "mingling" withornis meaning "bird". The specific epithetgularis isModern Latin meaning "-throated".[7] The pin-striped tit-babbler belongs within a clade that includes the generaDumetia andTimalia.[4]
The species has also been split following a study by Nigel Collar to distinguish the morphologically distinct Bornean and Javan populations, which have since been renamed thebold-striped tit-babbler (Mixornis bornensis), from the rest of the pin-striped tit-babbler species complex.[8]
The species has a distinctive yellowish supercilium and rufous crown. The throat is yellowish with brown streaks. Call is a loud repeatedchonk-chonk-chonk-chonk-chonk somewhat reminiscent of acommon tailorbird.
They forage in small flocks and creep and clamber in low vegetation. They breed in the pre-monsoon season from February to July and build a loose ball shaped nest made from grasses and leaves.
In India, there are disjunct populations in southern India. This population was recorded bySalim Ali fromAntharasanthe near theKabini reservoir. There were no records of the species from this area after the initial collection. The southern population was rediscovered from the Masinagudi area inMudumalai in 2004.[11]
Other populations are found in the northernEastern Ghats.
^Praveen J., Job K. Joseph & Nick Lethaby (2004) Sighting of Yellow-breasted Babbler Macronous gularis in South India. Newsletter for Ornithologists 1(3):43PDFArchived 2006-09-17 at theWayback Machine
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