The scaly chatterer is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is also known as the bare-eyed babbler. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Region
Horn of Africa and East Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia south through eastern Kenya to northeastern Tanzania. Favors semi-arid thorn scrub, acacia–commiphora bushland, and dry thickets, often near seasonal watercourses. It uses dense shrubs for cover and foraging, venturing into more open patches to feed. Common in lightly grazed rangelands and along scrubby edges of cultivation. It avoids dense forests and true desert.
Altitude Range
0–1600 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
This East African babbler often travels in tight-knit, noisy parties that keep up a constant chatter while moving through thorn scrub. Its name refers to the fine scalloped pattern on the underparts. Like many babblers, it shows cooperative tendencies, with group members helping to keep watch and mob predators. It is sometimes called the bare-eyed babbler for its conspicuous pale skin around the eye.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, fluttering dashes between cover
Social Behavior
Lives in small, cohesive groups that move together while foraging and keep contact with constant chatter. Pairs nest within group territories and may receive assistance from other group members in vigilance and mobbing. Nests are typically placed low in dense shrubs, and the group remains close to cover.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A lively mix of chattering, scolding notes and rattles delivered antiphonally by group members. Contact calls are harsh and repeated, while excitement produces rapid, bubbling chatter.
Plumage
Upperparts warm sandy-brown with slightly darker wings and tail; underparts show fine scalloped or scaly patterning on the breast and flanks. Throat paler, often buffy-white. Feathers appear soft and loosely textured, giving a somewhat fluffy look when relaxed.
Diet
Takes a wide range of small invertebrates such as beetles, termites, ants, spiders, and caterpillars. Supplements with seeds, berries, and other plant matter when available. Forages by gleaning from low shrubs, probing leaf litter, and picking prey from the ground. Will exploit termite emergences and may follow livestock to catch flushed insects.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense thorn scrub, acacia bushland, and along scrubby field edges and dry gullies. Stays close to cover, venturing briefly into open patches before retreating to thickets.
