Allopreening occurs in many species of birds and is known for providing hygienic and social benefits. While this behavior has been studied between conspecifics, its occurrence among different species remains mysterious. Outside of captive environment, only a few records of interspecific allopreening exist. In this study, we describe our observations of Spot-necked Babbler (Stachyris strialata) preening Nonggang Babbler (Stachyris nonggangensis) in a non-captive environment in southern China. We provide three hypotheses (social dominance, cleaning mutualism, and hybridization) to explain the occurrence of this understudied behavior. We suggest that interspecific allopreening may not be as rare as we thought if we study this behavior under circumstances where it most frequently occurs. This study contributes to our understanding of not only the potential mechanism(s) for interspecific allopreening but also the behavioral ecology of the vulnerable Nonggang Babbler.