Rufous-crowned Babbler

Rufous-crowned Babbler

Malacopteron magnum

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCNTNear ThreatenedVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Taman Negara National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

384 Verified sightings at Taman Negara National Park From 2019 to 2026
969 In all 8 parks
August Best month
🌙 Nocturnal When it's spotted

About the Rufous-crowned Babbler

The rufous-crowned babbler (Malacopteron magnum) is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

It is threatened by habitat loss. Collar, N. J. & Robson, C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 – 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:29

Malaysia · 2019

© Marc Anderson · XC673224 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:28

Malaysia · 1984

© Jelle Scharringa · XC663068 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:32

Malaysia · 2011

© David Edwards · XC86983 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
2 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
3 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
4 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
5 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
6 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
7 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
8 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous-crowned Babbler in Taman Negara National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-crowned Babbler sighting in Taman Negara National Park on a given day, based on 384 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 29th most-seen of the 293 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rufous-crowned Babbler in Taman Negara National Park?

August

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-crowned Babbler in Taman Negara National Park on a given day, against about 20% in April and October–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Rufous-crowned Babbler?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-crowned Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.

Is Taman Negara National Park the best place to see a Rufous-crowned Babbler?

Yes

Of the 8 parks where we can rate Rufous-crowned Babbler sightings, Taman Negara National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 30%) and Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Rufous-crowned Babbler live in Taman Negara National Park?

Same genus: Malacopteron

The closest relatives of the Rufous-crowned Babbler that you can see in Taman Negara National Park (genus Malacopteron, Malacopteron Babblers) are Sooty-capped Babbler (about 30%), Moustached Babbler (about 30%) and Scaly-crowned Babbler (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Rufous-crowned Babbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous-crowned Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Taman Negara National Park (384 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.

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