White-browed Scimitar Babbler    Pomatorhinus schisticeps

Etymology :

• Pomatorhinus : Greek Word  pomatos – lid, cover; rhinos- nostrils  {Lid covered nostrils}

• Schisticeps: Latin word schistus- slate, type of fissile stone; ceps –headed { Slate headed} 

Distribution in India: Resident of Himalayan foothills and hills of North East India.

1. Nominate – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to NE India (Central Arunachal Pradesh)
2. s. leucogaster – Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) to Garhwal (Uttarakhand)
3. s. salimalii – Mishmi Hills
4. s. cryptanthus – Meghalaya, South Assam, Nagaland and North 

Subspecies :

1. Nominate – Kumaon (Uttarakhand) to NE India (Central Arunachal Pradesh)
2. s. leucogaster – Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) to Garhwal (Uttarakhand) { smaller than nominate, more olive-grey above, with slightly paler and less extensive chestnut on neck and body sides}
3. s. salimalii – Mishmi Hills {blacker crown and ear-coverts}
4. s. cryptanthus – Meghalaya, South Assam, Nagaland and North Manipur {very slightly more rufous-tinged above, slightly less grey on hindcrown, often more rufous on nape}

 

Description: Size of 19–23 cm; wt.of 40 g. It is a medium-sized scimitar-babbler, olive-brown above and white below, with long white supercilium and yellow bill and eyes. The nominate race has slaty grey crown with indistinct blackish shaft streaks, shading on nape to ochrous olive-brown upperparts. The upperwing and tail are brown. The long supercilium from above nares to upper neck side is white. The lores, cheek and ear-coverts are blackish, chin and submoustachial area to mid-belly is white, neck side down to breast side and flanks is chestnut, fading to dull ochrous-grey on lower flanks, thighs and vent. The iris is yellow or pale orange, sometimes lavender or pale red. The bill is yellow, black base of upper mandible; legs are bluish-slate or greenish-slate to brownish. Both the sexes are similar. The juvenile is duller and paler than adult, slightly browner above, rufous on forehead, and rusty on breast and flanks. Race leucogaster is smaller than nominate, more olive-grey above, with slightly paler and less extensive chestnut on neck and body sides; race salimalii has blacker crown and ear-coverts; race cryptanthus is very slightly more rufous-tinged above, slightly less grey on hindcrown, often more rufous on nape.

Habitat: It is found in dense undergrowth in deciduous and evergreen broadleaf forest, secondary growth, well-wooded ravines, mixed bamboo forest, scrub-jungle, and grassland. It is found from 200 m to 2650 m in India.

Food habits: It eats Insects,small seeds and berries. It is found in pairs during breeding season; small parties, joining mixed feeding flocks which often contain other scimitar-babblers. It forages on ground, hops in undergrowth, and ascends trees.

 

Breeding habits:  They  breed inNov–Aug. The nest is built by both sexes over 10 days. It is a large, loose dome, usually on its side, entrance at smaller end or at side, made of dry bamboo or other leaves, coarse grasses, rootlets, tendrils, strips of bark and bracken leaves, lined (often thickly) with thin strips of dry bark, bark fibres, fine grasses, shredded dry bamboo leaves and rootlets, placed low down in bamboo clump or thick bush, grass clump, bank at foot of tree, or buried among dry leaves on ground, in depression on ground or at foot of small screw pine. They lay a clutch of 2–5 eggs. The incubation is done by both sexes.