Mount Victoria babax

The Mount Victoria babax is a species of passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the Chinese babax

Loading map...

Distribution

Region

Chin Hills, western Myanmar

Typical Environment

This species is confined to montane forests and shrublands on and around Mount Victoria. It frequents oak-rhododendron woodland, pine edges, and dense bamboo or rhododendron thickets. Birds often work along forest margins, clearings, and trails where leaf-litter and low shrubs provide foraging opportunities. Secondary growth and scrubby slopes are also used, especially where understory cover is intact.

Altitude Range

1800–3000 m

Climate Zone

Highland

Characteristics

Size23–27 cm

Wing Span30–35 cm

Male Weight0.09 kg

Female Weight0.085 kg

Life Expectancy7 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

The Mount Victoria babax is a shy, ground-favoring laughingthrush restricted to the highlands of Mount Victoria (Nat Ma Taung) in western Myanmar. It was formerly lumped with the Chinese babax but is now treated as a distinct species based on voice and morphology. Pairs or small parties often keep to dense thickets, but their rich, fluty songs can carry far on quiet mornings.

Gallery

Behaviour

Temperament

secretive yet social

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats; prefers low, fluttering hops between cover

Social Behavior

Usually in pairs or small family parties, sometimes joining mixed flocks in the understory. Territorial song is delivered from concealed perches within shrubs. Nesting is presumed to be cup-shaped and placed low in dense vegetation; both parents likely share care of young.

Migratory Pattern

Resident

Song Description

A rich, melodious series of fluty whistles and mellow phrases, often given in short bouts. Calls include scolding chatters and soft contact notes that keep group members coordinated in dense cover.

Unlock detailed bird insights with Pro access today.

Identification

Leg Colorpinkish-brown

Eye Colordark brown

Plumage

Warm brown upperparts with paler, finely streaked underparts; feathers often show subtle scalloping on the breast and flanks. Tail is long and graduated with paler tips. Texture is soft with a slightly loose, fluffy appearance typical of laughingthrushes.

Feeding Habits

Diet

Takes a broad mix of invertebrates such as beetles, caterpillars, and spiders gleaned from leaf-litter and low foliage. Also consumes berries, small fruits, and seeds when available. Will probe moss, bark crevices, and rotting wood, and occasionally hawks short distances for startled insects.

Preferred Environment

Feeds along forest edges, shrubby clearings, and dense thickets where litter accumulates. Often forages on or near the ground, moving methodically through tangles and bamboo understory along trails and gullies.

Population

Total Known Populationunknown

Mountain blackeye

The mountain blackeye, sometimes referred to as the olive blackeye or simply black-eye, is a species of passerine bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the highest mountains on the island of Borneo. It is known from both Malaysian states on the island, and four of the five Indonesian provinces, but has never been recorded in Brunei. Typically found at elevations above 1,800 m (5,900 ft), the mountain blackeye sometimes moves to lower altitudes during periods of drought. There are four subspecies, which show clinal variations in size and coloring. Birds in the north are largest, darkest, and proportionately longer-tailed, while those further south are smaller, paler, and proportionately shorter-tailed. Adults are dark olive-green with a sharply-pointed, bright yellow-orange bill and a small dark mask connecting black lores with a black eye-ring. The subspecies show varying amounts of yellow in their plumage, particularly on the face and underparts. Young birds resemble their parents, but have less brightly colored bills.

Mountain bluebird

The mountain bluebird is a migratory small thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter underneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast, grey crown, throat and back. In fresh fall plumage, the female's throat and breast are tinged with red-orange which is brownish near the flank, contrasting with white tail underparts. Their call is a thin 'few' while their song is a warbled high 'chur chur'. The mountain bluebird is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada. This bird is an omnivore and it can live 6 to 10 years in the wild. It eats spiders, grasshoppers, flies and other insects, and small fruits. The mountain bluebird is a relative of the eastern and western bluebirds.

Mountain bulbul

The mountain bulbul is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is often placed in Hypsipetes, but seems to be closer to the type species of the genus Ixos, the Sunda bulbul. It is found in Southeast Asia and is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN. It is named after British East India Company Surgeon John McClelland.