Jabarkhet

Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler

Pomatorhinus erythrogenys

 This is an amazing bird! It is about the size of a Myna, but with a long, curved beak and a fearsome looking white eye. These features and the white breast make it unmistakable. Despite all this, it stays on or very close to the ground and usually forages underneath the vegetation. This and its  preference for the dense scrub and undergrowth of ravines, means that it is very difficult to see.

You know it is there though, because the voice is a very striking “cue-pee, quip”, which carries quite some way, and can be rather startling. What is more amazing is that this call is actually a duet between the male and female. According to Salim Ali’s observations in Indian Hill Birds, the male tends to lead in foraging, and is closely followed by the female. When he calls “cue-pee!” she immediately answers “quip!”. This is done so rapidly that, even when you are standing close by, it is hard to believe it is not one single bird making this noise .

When the pair are disturbed, they make an alarm call which is a very loud nasally “quoink”, followed by a very rapid churr – which again is stated by Salim Ali, as another duet with the female contributing the churr. This is hard to believe for an alarm call, but indeed I have recordings where, in the occasional call, there is only the churr or the “quoink”. Listen to this longish sequence: