Grey-crowned Babblers

The Grey-crowned Babbler is our largest babbler, and is one of four Babbler species in Australia. Like all other Babbler species they are intensely social birds living in close knit family groups usually comprising from 4 to 10 birds. They feed mostly on the ground using their curved and pointed bills to dig vigorously in soil for insects, particularly larvae. Insects and spiders are also gleaned from under the bark of trees.

Living in open woodland habitats they are generally wary and hard to approach, however around camp grounds where they become used to people they will often forage through a camp site when close observation is possible. This was the case in the Warrumbungle National Park Blackman Campground where we spent a few nights recently.

Babbler young help build large domed stick nests for roosting and breeding and assist with feeding young. The family group are constantly chattering to one another to maintain their close bond, hence the name babbler. In addition from time to time they perch close together and indulge in group grooming and on the ground they can sometimes be found in what looks like group play which I assume helps maintain the family bond. 

This behaviour is hard to see in groups not used to human presence however at Blackman camp a group of eight birds comprising young (with dark iris – the adult Grey-crowns have a yellow iris) broke off from foraging a number of times over 15 minutes or so to indulge in group play where up to six birds including both adults and juveniles huddled close together on the ground. The following photos show the behaviour which was in no way aggressive but looked like play to me.

Please click on photos to enlarge.

The photos were taken late in the day with rain threatening so light was low hence high ISO was required making the photos a little grainy.

The first few photos show individual birds – the rest are of the group behaviour where there is a tangle of bodies in many positions with heads, wings and legs poking out here and there.

White-winged Choughs and Apostlebirds are also intensely social birds sharing many group behaviour characteristics with the Babblers.