Black-eared Shrike-babbler

The black-eared shrike-babbler (Pteruthius melanotis) is a bird species in the vireo family, Vireonidae. It was traditionally considered as an aberrant Old World babbler and formerly placed in the family Timaliidae. It was long noted that their habits resembled those of vireos, but this was previously ascribed to the result of convergent evolution. It is found in Southeast Asia from the Himalayas to western Malaysia. (Wikipedia, general species account).

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Babblers and their close allies are generally active passerines of forest, scrub or undergrowth. Many travel in pairs, family parties or mixed-species flocks while searching foliage, bark and leaf litter for invertebrates, sometimes adding fruit or seeds. Voice and social behaviour are often useful identification clues. These are family-level notes rather than Vietnam-specific breeding measurements (general babbler ecology).