As tempted as one would be to make a joke about little brown members of the genus Turdoides, one should resist. Most of humanity won’t consider it funny in the first place, and some (low) percentage of that audience will say something along the lines of “It means ‘thrush-like,’ actually, so-called because the presence of a ‘turdine thumb’ on the syrinx.”
What they’ll mean, of course, is that “It has nothing to do with excreta, you damned vulgarian.”
At which point, though in a hole of one’s own making, one should refuse to stop digging, and answer “Syrinxly?”
Most of humanity will then depart in a huff, and one can be left alone with one’s peers to chuckle, Beavis & Butthead-like, over the vagaries of etymological homophones.
Huh-huh, huh-huh. Homophones.
So yes, enjoyable, to me at least, and perhaps thee, but incorrect nonetheless. Besides, not every member of the genus Turdoides fits the “little brownish bird” description, though obviously the two found in Iraq do. Those are the Iraqi Babbler, pictured above, and the Common Babbler, below, both of which fell to the lens of LTC Bob, our avifaunalist in Iraq, sometime last week.
As one might suspect from the names, the Iraqi Babbler is found mainly in Iraq, while the Common Babbler is much more…..common, ranging throughout Southern Asia. Babblers as a whole are members of the rather large Timaliidae family, or Old World Babblers, which also include the much more melodically named Laughingthrushes.
Aside from the striated breast and shoulders of the Common, the best way to differentiate between the species is by looking at their legs, which are yellow in the Common Babbler and brown in the Iraqi. The Iraqi Babbler may also exhibit a behavioral difference, according to the guide.
“…often in groups, sometimes skulking, sometimes in the open, often hopping on ground, tail raised, or flying ‘follow my leader’ in low, laboured flight, interspersed with glides.”
Prior to the 2003 invasion, there was some concern over the status of the Iraqi Babbler, especially as it was thought endemic to the threatened southeastern marshes, but though restricted in it’s choice of ecosystem, the species does not appear to be threatened at this moment in time, and appears to be expanding its range, having been sighted in both Syria and Iran.
Yes, I think it’s a coincidence that both of those countries might be next on our to-do list. We should resist the urge to indulge in avian conspiracy theories until the species is sighted in North Korea or some other incongruous location.
But after that, all bets are off.
Previously: The Barn Swallow
Next: The White-Breasted Kingfisher
