Habitat
Subtropical and tropical lowland moist forest. Also, subtropical and tropical lowland moist shrubland, grassland, heavily degraded former forest, plantations. From 120 - 2,100 m.
Rufous-fronted Babbler (Cyanoderma rufifrons) [XC243496]
by Marc Anderson from Kaziranga National Park Head Quarters, Golaghat, Assam, India (call, song)
Rufous-fronted Babbler (Cyanoderma rufifrons) [XC94308]
by Greg Irving from Hellfire Pass, Kanchanaburi, Thailand (song)
Subspecies
Rufous-fronted Babbler (Cyanoderma rufifrons) and Deignan's Babbler (Stachyris rodolphei) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Stachyris rufifrons following Robson (2000).
Subspecies ambigua, adjuncta, planicola and insuspecta sometimes treated as representing a separate species Buff-chested Babbler (Cyanoderma ambigua), on basis of reports of co-occurrence of certain taxa, but evidence unclear. Individuals of this genus observed in central Laos may belong with subspecies insuspecta or with nominate subspecies of Rufous-capped Babbler (Cyanoderma ruficeps) but further study is required.
Proposed form Deignan's Babbler (Stachyris rodolphei), known only from Doi Chiang Dao, in north-western Thailand, is regarded as a synonym of nominate subspecies.
The following 9 subspecies are recognised:
ambigua (Hume, 1873) - Eastern Himalayas to southern Laos. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Buff-chested Babbler (Cyanoderma ambigua).
planicola (Mayr, 1941) - Southern part of northern Myanmar; probably also western Yunnan, in southern China. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Buff-chested Babbler (Cyanoderma ambigua).
pallescens Ticehurst, 1932 - Western Myanmar.
rufifrons (Hume, 1873) - South-eastern Myanmar (including northern Tenasserim) and north-western and western Thailand.
adjuncta (Deignan, 1939) - Northern Thailand, northern and central Laos and northern Vietnam (western Tonkin, northern Annam). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Buff-chested Babbler (Cyanoderma ambigua).
insuspecta (Deignan, 1939) - Southern Laos. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Buff-chested Babbler (Cyanoderma ambigua).
obscura Baker, ECS, 1917 - Southern Myanmar (Mergui District) and central peninsular Thailand.
poliogaster (Hume, 1880) - Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and northern and central Borneo.
sarawacensis (Chasen, 1939) - Northern Borneo (Mt. Poi in western Sarawak).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet