A new species of babbler, the Nonggang babbler (Stachyris nonggangensis), was recently described from the province of Guangxi, which is located in south-west China.

IMAGE CREDIT: James Eaton; Birdtour Asia. From BirdLife International:

Ornithologists, Zhou Fang and Jiang Aiwu from Guangxi University first sighted the birds in surveys during 2005 and confirmed its identity as an undescribed taxon the following year. A formal description was published in a recent edition of leading ornithological journal The Auk.

In general behaviour it resembles a wren-babbler of the genus Napothera in that it prefers running to flying, and seems to spend most of its time on the ground foraging for insects between rocks and under fallen leaves. This is in contrast to other closely-related babbler species that spend most of their time foraging in undergrowth and trees, seldom coming to the ground. No nest has yet been found. About 100 pairs of the birds have been observed in Nonggang.

“I have been studying birds in the region since the 1970s but I had never seen it before. Their habitat in the reserve is protected”, Zhou says. “But as they could also exist in the karst rainforest outside the reserve, logging and burning wood to make charcoal pose a threat to their wider habitat.”

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