Puff-throated Babbler

Puff-throated Babbler

Pellorneum ruficeps

Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Pune

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

226 Verified sightings at Pune
9,666 In all 23 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Puff-throated Babbler

The puff-throated babbler or spotted babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps) is a species of passerine bird found in Asia. They are found in scrub and moist forest mainly in hilly regions. They forage in small groups on the forest floor, turning around leaf litter to find their prey and usually staying low in the undergrowth where they can be hard to spot. However, they have loud and distinct calls, including a morning song, contact and alarm calls. It is the type species of the genus Pellorneum which may, however, currently include multiple lineages.

Puff-throated babblers are brown above, and white below with heavily brown streaks towards the breast and belly. They have a chestnut crown, long buff supercilium and dusky cheeks. The throat is white, and is sometimes puffed out giving it the English name. Puff-throated babblers have strong legs, and spend a lot of time on the forest floor. They can often be seen creeping through undergrowth in search of their insect food, looking at first glance like a song thrush. Some subspecies have streaks on the mantle while others, especially in Peninsular India, are unstreaked.

The widespread distribution with population variations has... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:35

Laos · 2026

© Bram Piot · XC1075928 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Subsong0:56

Malaysia · 2024

© Lim Ying Hien · XC877660 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Duet0:40

Nepal · 2023

© Greg Irving · XC844127 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~50%
2 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~40%
3 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~40%
4 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~30%
5 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
6 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
8 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
9 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
10 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
11 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
12 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
13 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
14 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
15 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
16 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
17 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
18 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
19 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
~10%
20 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
21 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
22 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
23 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
~20%
2 Mumbai 🇮🇳 India
~10%
3 Bhubaneshwar 🇮🇳 India
~10%
4 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
5 Tamluk 🇮🇳 India
<5%
6 Guwahati 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Kathmandu 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
8 Kozhikode 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Pune 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Nashik 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Puff-throated Babbler in Pune?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Puff-throated Babbler sighting in Pune on a given day, based on 226 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 128th most-seen of the 236 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Puff-throated Babbler in Pune?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Puff-throated Babbler in Pune on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Puff-throated Babbler?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Puff-throated Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Pune the best place to see a Puff-throated Babbler?

9th of 13

Of the 13 cities where we can rate Puff-throated Babbler sightings, Pune ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Dehradun (India, about 20%), Mumbai (India, about 10%) and Bhubaneshwar (India, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Puff-throated Babbler live in Pune?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Puff-throated Babbler that you can see in Pune (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are House Crow (about 70%), Large-billed Crow (about 70%) and Purple Sunbird (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Puff-throated Babbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Puff-throated Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Pune (226 verified sightings), 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.

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