Golden Babbler

The golden babbler is a distinctive 10–12-centimetre forest bird with a bright yellow crown and underparts, greenish-olive upperparts and flanks, black lores and fine black streaking across the crown. Some populations also show dark ear coverts, and the iris is deep crimson. The sexes look alike, while juveniles are pale rufous overall and lack the adult's crown streaks (BirdForum Opus, general species account).

Its range extends from the central Himalayas through southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. It inhabits broadleaf evergreen forest, bamboo stands, dense bushes, secondary growth, clearings and abandoned cultivation, occurring across roughly 300–2,600 metres in mainland Southeast Asia. Golden babblers actively glean small invertebrates from foliage and are often encountered in pairs or mixed-species flocks within dense montane vegetation (BirdForum Opus; Current Zoology habitat discussion).