Large Grey Babbler

Large Grey Babbler

Turdoides malcolmi

Silhouette: Jiekun He · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Solapur

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

55 Verified sightings at Solapur
1,874 In all 8 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Large Grey Babbler

The large grey babbler (Argya malcolmi) is a member of the family Leiothrichidae found across India and far western Nepal. They are locally common in the scrub, open forest and gardenland. They are usually seen in small groups and are easily distinguished from other babblers in the region by their nasal call and the whitish outer feathers to their long tail. It is one of the largest babblers in the region.

This long-tailed and large babbler has a brown body with creamy white outer tail feathers which are easily visible as they fly with fluttery wing beats low over the ground. The lores are dark and forehead is grey with white shaft streaks on the feathers. The rump and uppertail covers are pale grey. The mantle has dusky blotches and no shaft streaks. The three outer tail feathers are white and the fourth pair has the outer web white. The wings are darker brown. The iris is yellow and the upper mandible is dark brown while the lower mandible is yellowish. The tail is faintly cross barred. Abnormal specimens showing albinism or leucism have been reported.

The species was first described from the Deccan Plateau region. The scientific name was given by Colonel W H Sykes... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:07

India · 2025

© R Sreeja · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Recording0:08

India · 2024

© Nandini · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:12

India · 2024

© SONU KUMAR · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
2 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Gir National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
4 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
5 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
6 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
7 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Jaipur 🇮🇳 India
~50%
2 Solapur 🇮🇳 India
~40%
3 Jodhpur 🇮🇳 India
~40%
4 Rajkot 🇮🇳 India
~30%
5 Gwalior 🇮🇳 India
~30%
6 Nashik 🇮🇳 India
~30%
7 Pune 🇮🇳 India
~30%
8 Indore 🇮🇳 India
~20%
9 Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Hyderabad 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Large Grey Babbler in Solapur?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Large Grey Babbler sighting in Solapur on a given day, based on 55 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 86 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Large Grey Babbler in Solapur?

March–May and November

In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Large Grey Babbler in Solapur on a given day, against about 20% in February and December, the lowest months. Those are among Solapur's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in September. August has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Large Grey Babbler?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Large Grey Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Solapur the best place to see a Large Grey Babbler?

2nd of 33

Of the 33 cities where we can rate Large Grey Babbler sightings, Solapur ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Jaipur (India, about 50%).

Which relatives of the Large Grey Babbler live in Solapur?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Large Grey Babbler that you can see in Solapur (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Indian Robin (about 80%), House Crow (about 80%) and Common Tailorbird (about 80%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Large Grey Babbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Large Grey Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Solapur (55 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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