Brown Capped Babbler

Sri Lanka Brown-capped Babbler "Pellorneum fuscocapillum" (Blyth, 1849)

The Sri Lanka bush warbler is an elusive bird that confines itself mostly to dense undergrowth in forested areas. It is essentially a mountain species, rarely occurring below 1,500 metres altitude in the central hills. They move about in pairs or small groups of three or four individuals. Their food consists of insects and seeds, picked both from shrubs and the ground. They can easily be separated from the other species by its overall dark-brown colour, its dark grayish breast and the faint light stripe that runs across its eye. Young males have a pale, reddish-yellow iris, which is white in young females. A small bird is 16 – 16.5 cm in length.

The breeding season appears to be from mid-March to about the end of May, with a Second season from about mid-August to end September. The nest is located close to the ground, often beside an opening or footpath. The nest is placed on top of a s concealed among the foliage. It has an open cup shape. Two pale-pink eggs (21.7 x 26.1 mm) covered with fine, purple-brown specks coalescing at the larger end, are laid.