Turdoides subrufa
Silhouette: Jiekun He · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The rufous babbler (Argya subrufa) is an endemic species of bird found in the Western Ghats of southern India of the family Leiothrichidae It is dark brown and long tailed, and is usually seen foraging in noisy groups along open hillsides with a mixture of grass, bracken and forest.
The rufous babbler was formerly placed in the genus Turdoides but following the publication of a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study in 2018, it was moved to the resurrected genus Argya. This babbler is large and dark olive brown above with a grey forehead. The wing feathers have a rufous tinge. The feathers of the forehead have black shafts. The iris is pale white to yellow and the lores are dark. The underside is bright rufous, and paler on the center of the throat and belly. The nominate form (type location: Mananthawadi) is found in the Western Ghats north of the Palghat Gap while hyperythra found to the south is said to be more richly coloured. They are 25–26 cm long with a wing of 8.7-9.0 cm. The tail is about 11–11.5 cm long.
This species is found in the Western Ghats south of Mahabaleshwar south to the Palni hills and east into... Wikipedia →
Recording0:09
India · 2025
© Gaurav S. Soman. · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Babbler sighting in Bandipur National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 183rd most-seen of the 256 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Babbler in Bandipur National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Bandipur National Park's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against almost none in February.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Rufous Babbler sightings, Bandipur National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Periyar National Park (India, about 20%), Eravikulam National Park (India, under 5%) and Nagarhole National Park (India, under 5%).
Same genus: Turdoides
The closest relatives of the Rufous Babbler that you can see in Bandipur National Park (genus Turdoides, Turdoides Babblers) are Jungle Babbler (about 30%), Yellow-billed Babbler (about 20%) and Large Grey Babbler (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Bandipur National Park (22 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
