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Iraq Babbler
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Iraq Babbler
Argya altirostris
The Iraq babbler (Argya altirostris) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae, native to the reedbeds of Mesopotamia. It is found in Iraq, southwestern Iran, Syria, and southeastern Turkey. Its range overlaps with that of the Afghan babbler Argya huttoni, from which it is distinguished by its smaller size and use of wetland habitats.
Originally confined to the lower Euphrates and Tigris valleys in southern Iraq and adjacent western Iran, in recent decades it has spread north along the Euphrates through Syria, reaching the Birecik area of southeastern Turkey in 2006.
From the article Iraq babbler on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The Iraq babbler is similar to other Argya babblers, though at 20–23 cm long, it is smaller than most. It is buffy brown to greyish brown above, and paler below, with a distinct whitish throat. The plumage is plainer than the Afghan babbler, only slightly rather than conspicuously streaked darker on the crown and breast. The tail is long, and the wings short. The bill is blackish, and slightly downcurved. The eyes are dark, and the legs dark brown.
What it does
It is largely restricted to riverside reedbeds, also using adjacent trees and shrubs. Otherwise, its behaviour is very similar to that of other Argya babblers, living in noisy flocks of 10–20 or more birds, the group making short flights 'follow my leader' style with weak flight.
Wikipedia: “Ecology and behaviour”
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
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Every page naming Argya altirostris in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 1289419.