Foraging pattern of Chestnut-winged Babbler (Stachyris erythroptera) and Abbott’s Babbler (Malacocincla abbotti) was
studied in Lenggong Valley, Perak from July 2010 until July 2011. The study examines the patterns of foraging height,
foraging substrates and attack manoeuvres of two babbler species (Family: Timaliidae), to explain how these trophically
similar species can coexist in the same habitat; a central question in ecology. Information on the foraging height, foraging
substrate and attack manoeuvres was collected independently for each foraging bird. Principal component analysis and
Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that these two species used similar proportion of foraging height (>0-2 m above
the ground) and foraging substrate (dead leaves), but differed in the use of attack manoeuvres. The Chestnut-winged
babbler used primarily stretching manoeuvre, whereas the Abbott’s babbler used primarily gleaning manoeuvre. This
niche separation allowed these species to coexist in the same area, thus follows the Gause’ Law of competitive exclusion,
that states two species occupying the same niches will not coexist forever.