Common Tailorbird

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Common Tailorbird

Male Tailorbird in breeding plumage with elongated central tail feathers

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Sylviidae
Genus:	Orthotomus
Species:	O. sutorius

Binomial name

Orthotomus sutorius
(Pennant, 1769)

at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.

The Common Tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius, is an Old World warbler. This tailorbird is a resident breeder in tropical south Asia from Pakistan and India to south China, and Indonesia.

This passerine bird is typically found in open woodland, scrub 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 spiders web to make a cradle in which the actual grass nest is built. Common Tailorbird builds its nest in a shrub and lays 3-5 eggs.

at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.

These 13 cm long warblers are brightly coloured, with bright green upperparts and whitish underparts. The crown of the head is chestnut. It has short rounded wings, a short tail, strong legs and a long decurved bill. The tail is typically held upright, like a wren.

The sexes are identical, except that the male has long central tail feathers in the breeding season, but young birds are duller.

There are two endemic races in Sri Lanka which retain the male's long tail feathers all year.

Like most warblers, the Common Tailorbird is insectivorous. The song is a loud cheeup-cheeup-cheeup.

[edit] In culture

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the poem by Rudyard Kipling, features a tailorbird. "Tuntuni'r Boi",the children's verses in Bengali by Upendrakishore Ray,also features a tailorbird.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Orthotomus sutorius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa by Baker, ISBN 0-7136-3971-7
Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6
Rikki Tikki Tavi

[edit] Gallery

on Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	gleaning insects from Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) flower buds in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	gleaning insects from Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) flower buds in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	gleaning insects from Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) flower buds in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.
at Sindhrot in Vadodara district of Gujarat, India.	feeding in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.
at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Tailorbird