Bird Watch: Yellow-eyed babbler, or ‘gulab chashm’, a common resident bird in Chandigarh

In northern India, the bird is called gulab chashm, which means yellow spectacles.

The southwest monsoon, between July and August, is the breeding season for yellow-eyed babblers. The male and female birds make the nest together. During the non-breeding season, the bird is seen in groups of five to 15. Insects are the ideal diet but the bird also feeds on berries.

Both parents take part in the incubation. Eggs hatch after 13-14 days and chicks fledge after 13 days. The usual clutch of eggs is four but can also be three to five.

The bird is a favourite prey of shikras, a bird of prey.

Yellow-eyed babbler is listed under the least concern category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature owing to its wide distribution and wide population. Globally it is a native bird to South and Southeast Asia.