Malacopteron magnirostre
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The moustached babbler (Malacopteron magnirostre) is a species of bird in the ground babbler family Pellorneidae. The species is also known as the brown-headed babbler or brown-headed tree-babbler. The specific name magnirostre comes from the Latin magnus for big and rostris for billed. The name for the subspecies cinereocapilla comes from the Latin cinereus for ash/ashy and capillus for headed.
The moustached babbler is found in Sundaland. The nominate race is found in southern Myanmar and Thailand through Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, and the subspecies M. m. cinereocapilla is endemic to Borneo. Formerly, it could be found in the forests of Singapore, but it is now likely extinct there.
Its natural habitat is tropical moist primary lowland forests, peatswamp forest, secondary forest, logged forests and old rubber plantations, from 915 m (3,002 ft), rarely to 1,200 m (3... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Moustached Babbler sighting in Way Kambas National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 152nd most-seen of the 205 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Moustached Babbler in Way Kambas National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month. Those are among Way Kambas National Park's driest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 370 mm in March. November to February have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Moustached Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Moustached Babbler sightings, Way Kambas National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Khao Luang National Park (Thailand, about 30%), Taman Negara National Park (Malaysia, about 30%) and Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 20%).
Same genus: Malacopteron
The closest relatives of the Moustached Babbler that you can see in Way Kambas National Park (genus Malacopteron, Malacopteron Babblers) are Sooty-capped Babbler (about 20%), Scaly-crowned Babbler (about 10%) and Rufous-crowned Babbler (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Moustached Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Way Kambas National Park (21 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.
