Arabian babbler
turdoides squamiceps latin

The Arabian Babbler prefers to settle along dry river beds with few trees and bushes.

Arabian Babbler (Turdoides squamiceps)

Amotz Zahavi studied in particular the Arabian Babbler, a very social bird, with a life-length of 30 years, which was considered to have altruist behaviours.

The behaviour of Arabian babblers is more akin to that of a troop of monkeys: they do everything for the benefit of a group as a whole.

The Arabian Babbler (Turdoides squamiceps) is a passerine bird belonging to the genus Turdoides.

Thus, Zahavi (1974) theorized that chick feeding by Arabian Babbler helpers acts as a signal by the helper to gain social prestige within the group.

Amotz Zahavi, famous for his work with the altruistic Arabian babbler, suggests that this level of "social prestige" will affect which individuals interact with one another and how they behave.

Altruist theories in evolutionary biology were contested by Amotz Zahavi, the inventor of the signalling theory and its correlative, the handicap principle, based mainly on his observations of the Arabian Babbler, a bird commonly known for its surprising (alleged) altruistic behaviours.