Arrow-marked babbler

Turdoides jardineii

The Arrow-marked babbler (Turdoides jardineii) is a bird found in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Kenya. Woods and scrub in southern and eastern Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, reptiles and frogs and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Turdoides jardineii
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Kenya

🏡 Where the Arrow-marked babbler lives

Woods and scrub in southern and eastern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs60%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
🍎 Fruit10%
🌸 Nectar10%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Noisy gangs of up to a dozen call loudly together.

Hear the Arrow-marked babbler

Recorded by Nick Talbot (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC949229. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Arrow-marked babbler

Where does the Arrow-marked babbler live?

The Arrow-marked babbler lives in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Kenya. Woods and scrub in southern and eastern Africa.

What does the Arrow-marked babbler eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 60%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), fruit (about 10%), nectar (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Arrow-marked babbler endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.