NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sooty-capped Babbler
Malacopteron affine (Blyth, 1842)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sooty-capped babbler (Malacopteron affine) is a member of the family Pellorneidae. It occurs in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, and Singapore.
The sooty-capped babbler is also known in Malay as rimba tinjau belukar. Its main diet is small insects.
It is threatened by habitat loss.
There are two subspecies:
M. a. affine (Blyth, 1842) – Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Banyak Islands, Bangka Islands
M. a. phoeniceum Deignan, 1950 – Borneo
Wikipedia contributors, Sooty-capped babbler; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:44:56.954852+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Malacopteron affine (Blyth, 1842)
- Name authority
- (Blyth, 1842)
- Common name
- Sooty-capped Babbler
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pellorneidae
- Genus
- Malacopteron
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPellorneidae Vigors & Delacour, 1946
- genusMalacopteron Eyton, 1839
- speciesMalacopteron affine (Blyth, 1842)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Malacopteron. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rufous-crowned BabblerMalacopteron magnum Eyton, 1839 | PellorneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Melodious BabblerMalacopteron palawanense Büttikofer, 1895 | PellorneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-breasted BabblerMalacopteron albogulare (Blyth, 1844) | PellorneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Scaly-crowned BabblerMalacopteron cinereum Eyton, 1839 | PellorneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Moustached BabblerMalacopteron magnirostre (F. Moore, 1854) | PellorneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Trichastoma affine Blyth, 1842 Blyth, 1842 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560949 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3XKRG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.