The yellow-eyed babbler (Chrysomma sinense hypoleucum) has bright orange-yellow eye rims – hence its name. The eyes are surrounded by a narrow, black eye-ring, which further enhances their prominence. Native to South and Southeast Asia, it is generally brown above and white below with rufous wingtips and a long tail – though there are some differences in plumage between subspecies. The population across much of India, hypoleucum, has yellow nostrils (as with the nominate Burmese subspecies) and is paler in plumage. The population in Sri Lanka, nasale, has black nostrils and a stouter bill. A highly social bird that lives in cooperative groups, it can mimic the calls of more than 50 different bird species.
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