Grey-crowned babbler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Grey-crowned babbler |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Pomatostomus
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| Species: |
temporalis
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The grey-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis) is a type of bird that lives in family groups. You can find these birds in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. They like to live in forests, especially warm, wet ones.
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Meet the Grey-crowned Babbler
The grey-crowned babbler is a medium-sized bird. It has a grey cap on its head, a white stripe above its eye, and a dark stripe through its eye. Its body can be different colors depending on where it lives. These birds are very social and often move around in noisy groups.
Different Types of Babblers
Scientists have found two main types, or subspecies, of the grey-crowned babbler. They live in different parts of Australia and New Guinea.
Eastern Babblers
The Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis subspecies lives in eastern Australia. This includes places like Victoria, New South Wales, and eastern Queensland. You can also find them in New Guinea. These birds usually have a creamy white chest.
Western Babblers
The Pomatostomus temporalis rubeculus subspecies lives in western Australia. This includes areas like Western Australia and the Northern Territory. These birds have a reddish-brown chest.
Sometimes, where the two types meet in Queensland, you might find birds that look a bit like both!
What Are They Called?
The grey-crowned babbler has a few other fun names. These names often come from their sounds or how they act.
- Yahoo: This name comes from the loud, distinctive calls they make.
- Grey-crowned chatterer: This name was given by a bird expert named A. J. North.
- Happy-Jack: This popular name describes how they move around in noisy, happy family groups.
- Dog-bird, Barker, Barking-bird: These names likely come from a soft "tuk" sound they make, which can sound a bit like a dog's bark.
Keeping Babblers Safe
The safety of the grey-crowned babbler is important. Different groups and states in Australia have different ideas about how safe these birds are.
National Status in Australia
Australia has an official list of threatened species. On this list, the grey-crowned babbler is not currently considered threatened. However, some bird experts think the eastern type (P. t. temporalis) is "near-threatened." This means it could become threatened soon.
Why? Because this eastern type has disappeared from more than half of the places it used to live. Its numbers are going down, especially in the southern parts of its home range. The western type (P. t. rubeculus) is considered to be of "least concern," meaning it's not in danger right now.
Status in Australian States
The safety status of the grey-crowned babbler changes from state to state in Australia.
- In Victoria, the bird is listed as endangered. This means it's in serious danger of disappearing.
- In New South Wales, the eastern type is listed as vulnerable. This means it's at risk.
- In South Australia, it's listed as a rare species.
- In Western Australia and Queensland, it's not listed as a threatened species.
Why Are They in Danger?
The biggest problem for the eastern grey-crowned babbler is that their homes are being destroyed or broken up. Their favorite places to live are woodlands. When these woodlands are cleared for farms or buildings, the babblers lose their homes.
When their homes are broken into small pieces, it's hard for babblers to move between them. They don't travel well over open areas. This means that if a group of babblers disappears from a small patch of woodland, new babblers usually can't move in to replace them. This makes it harder for their populations to grow.
Images for kids
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Small flock of grey-crowned babblers (Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis), New South Wales, Australia
See also
In Spanish: Pomatostomus temporalis para niños
