COMMON TAILORBIRD (Orthotomus
sutorius) is a songbird found across tropical
Asia. Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and
immortalized by Rudyard Kipling in his Jungle Book, it is a common resident in urban gardens. Although shy birds
that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and
give away their presence. This passerine bird is typically found in open farmland, scrub, forest edges and
gardens. Tailorbirds get their name from the way their nest is constructed. The
edges of a large leaf are pierced and sewn together with plant fibre or spider
silk to make a cradle in which the actual nest is built.
Like most warblers, the Common Tailorbird is insectivorous. The song is a loud cheeup-cheeup-cheeup with variations across the
populations. The disyllabic calls are repeated often.
The scientific name sutorius means "cobbler" rather than
"tailor" while Orthotomus means "straight-cutting".
The species was earlier placed in the family Sylviidae but more recent
molecular studies place the species within the family Cisticolidae, along with Prinia and Cisticola.
A number of subspecies are recognized within its widespread range
in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The nominate race is from the lowlands of Sri
Lanka. Race O. s. fernandonis is found in the highlands of Sri
Lanka.
The Common Tailorbird is a brightly coloured
bird, with bright green upperparts and whitish underparts. They range in size
from 10 to 14 centimetres (3.9 to 5.5 in) and weigh 6 to 10
grams (0.21 to 0.35 oz). They have short rounded wings, a long tail,
strong legs and a sharp bill with curved tip to the upper mandible. They are wren-like with a long upright tail that is often
moved around. The crown is rufous and the upperparts are predominantly olive
green. The underside is creamy white. The sexes are identical.
The usual clutch is three eggs.[INFO:WIKIPEDIA]
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