Babblers (Timaliidae)

Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler (Pomatorhinus montanus) - HBW 12, p. 168

French: Pomatorhin à dos marron German: Rotrückensäbler Spanish: Cimitarra Dorsicastaña
Other common names: Yellow-billed Scimitar-babbler

Taxonomy: Pomatorhinus montanus Horsfield, 1821, Mount Merbabu and Mount Prahu, central Java.
May be close to P. schisticeps. Races occidentalis and bornensis smaller and brighter than Javan ones, and study of differences, including vocal ones, required; situation further complicated, however, by evidence that in Java and Sumatra, at least, upland birds are precocious, flocking and noisy, whereas lowland populations in Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia are skulking, unsociable and thought possibly to produce only the triple hooting call. Further research needed. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution: