If there was ever a parliament of birds, then this avian would have delivered the most vociferous speeches. No doubt quirky artists caricatured it in their popular Angry Birds game. I’m sure you all must have enjoyed playing this viral pastime and gotten amused by the perpetual furious look on the birds' faces. Recognised as the most argumentative bird, the Jungle Babbler couldn’t be named more aptly. Even its genus name argya means to argue in Latin.
Observing them for hours babbling in my balcony, I often end up speculating each time their gang falls silent suddenly. Assuming them to be clarifying to me they'd say, “Hey Gargi, don’t be puzzled. We do keep quiet, once in a while, particularly when we're doing important stuff. We shall live up to our name quickly and try our best not to tear your eardrums with our lively tooth-and-nail debates. You see, you need to join our cantankerous chirps. That’s the best way to thank us for the invaluable company we bestow upon you in your otherwise noiseless jungle. Hehe…”
As a muted listener without a choice, I would like to dutifully tell them, “I can’t agree with you more, dear Seven Sisters. You do have all your stealth modes on while making nests or spotting predators.” Known as saath bhai (seven brothers) in Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Gujarati, and many other Indian regional languages; the Jungle Babbler groups are called Seven Sisters in English. As some stealth army commandos they help farmers combat all the notorious pests by feeding upon them—like gram pod borers, grasshoppers, locusts, crickets and their larvae. Hence, rather than being just babblers, when in action, these birds protect us from heavy crops losses.
Further, not just their diet but their appearance also proves to be helpful for our agro-ecosystem. For instance, their dull brown-greyish plumage perfectly camouflages them with the soil where they pick up insects and grains. Both the male and female partners display this identical dress. Their yellow bill, pale-cream eyes, rounded wings, and long tail are other notable features which blend them with their terrestrial background.
In fact, the babblers remain low-flight birds and prefer hopping because their flight is weak. That is also partly why they are non-migratory; but are, however, found across the Indian Subcontinent. It is only surprising why they are categorised as ‘jungle’ birds when they are well-adapted to our cities and villages.
Interestingly, these socialites often fall prey to brood parasitism (laying one's eggs in another bird's nest) by Common Hawk Cuckoo and Pied Crested Cuckoo. No wonder why these Jungle Blabbers remain our true angry birds!
(Photo credits: Athiya Mahapatra)
(This was first published in the 1-30 April 2022 edition of the Gobar Times.)
An amateur ornithologist and closely follows the avian world.