First breeding records of Nonggang Babbler (Stachyris nonggangensis) in a limestone area in southern China

We present the first breeding records of Nonggang Babbler (Stachyris nonggangensis), a newly described bird species found in the limestone area of southwestern Guangxi, in southern China in 2008. The records presented here include information on behavior, nest, egg, incubation, and reproductive success rate. We discovered six nests (including three active nests) through systematic checking and radio tracking. Most Nonggang Babblers were found to begin foraging in pairs (male and female) from mid to late March. They build their nests in April. The nests were placed in cavities in a limestone cliff or on a massive rock located on the mountainside at altitudes ranging from 206–323 m. The nests were made of aerial roots, leaves, twigs, and soft grasses. Nonggang Babblers would lay 4–5 pure white eggs with an average fresh weight of 4.80 ± 0.11 g. Female Nonggang Babblers would spend 74.5 ± 5.0% of the day incubating their eggs, and the incubation period would last >18 days. We propose that Nonggang Babblers could prolong the incubation period and reduce foraging time to enhance the survival rate of fledglings. The high nest predation rate is an important limiting factor for the population growth of Nonggang Babblers.