Babblers: Timaliidae

With the exception of the picathartes, which evolved in Africa, most members of this family originated in Asia. Babblers can be found in regions of China, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Australia and New Guinea, Japan and the Philippines, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The only American species traces its roots to Asia as well.

Most babblers live in forested regions. A few adapted to desert and savanna (grassland) areas, and one species is semiaquatic in a marsh environment.

Babblers feed mainly on insects, though some species will eat fruit, seeds, frogs, and reptiles, depending on their specific habitats and the season of the year. The Arabian babbler, which lives in the desert where food is scarce, will eat almost anything.

Babblers, popular with zoos and exotic bird collectors, were once heavily trapped. Ecotourism, an industry based on attracting tourists to view birds, animals, and natural habitats, can help protect babbler populations in their natural environments by allowing people to see the birds there, instead of in zoos.

Chinese farmers have complained that the laughing thrush causes crop damage, but the bird helps with insect control in agricultural fields.