Stachyris oglei
The Snowy-throated Babbler, *Stachyris oglei*, is a captivating and highly elusive member of the Timaliidae family, renowned for its distinctive appearance and extreme rarity. This small babbler measures approximately 14-16 cm (5.5-6.3 inches) in length, characterized by a strikingly crisp white throat and upper breast, which contrasts sharply with its otherwise subdued plumage. It sports a rufous-brown cap, olive-brown back, grayish-brown flanks, and a paler belly, complemented by a dark bil...
This species inhabits the dense undergrowth and low to middle strata of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf evergreen forests, often found along stream banks and ravines. It typically occurs at elevations ranging from 300 to 1100 meters (1,000-3,600 feet) above sea level.
The diet consists mainly of small invertebrates, including insects and spiders, which it gleans from leaves, twigs, and bark in the forest understory. It occasionally supplements its diet with small seeds or berries.
The Snowy-throated Babbler is a highly secretive and skulking diurnal species, preferring to remain hidden within the dense forest undergrowth. It primarily forages by gleaning insects and other small invertebrates from foliage, bark, and leaf litter, often working its way through thickets close ...
The Snowy-throated Babbler is a non-migratory resident species with an extremely restricted and fragmented range across parts of Southeast Asia. Historically known from the Cachar hills of Assam, India, its current distribution is concentrated primarily in isolated pockets of northern Myanmar, pa...
Critically Endangered
- First discovered in 1877, the Snowy-throated Babbler then went unrecorded for 77 years until its thrilling rediscovery in 1988 in Thailand, cementing its status as an 'ornithological ghost'. - It was named after R. A. Ogle, a collector who obtained the type specimen in what is now Myanmar, a te...