Common Tailorbird
Encyclopedia
The Common Tailorbird 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. They are distinctive in having a greenish upper body plumage, long upright tail and the rust coloured forehead and crown. 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 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 fernandonis is found in the highlands of Sri Lanka. Neighbouring India has guzuratus in the peninsula and west to Pakistan while towards the north patia is found in the Terai of Nepal along the Himalayan foothills until Myanmar. A small population of patia is also found in the northern Eastern Ghats (Wangasara). The hills of northeastern India have luteus. In Southeast Asia inexpectatus and maculicollis are found in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. South east China, including the island of Hainan, and Tonkin in Vietnam have longicauda while edela is found on Java.
-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, except that the male has long central tail feather
s in the breeding season. (The reliability of sexing of specimens in determining this difference has been questioned by Hugh Whistler
.) Young birds are duller. When calling the dark patches on the sides of the neck become visible. These are due to the dark pigmented and bare skin that are present in both sexes and sometimes give the appearance of a dark gorget.
. They are attracted to insects at flowers and are known to favour the inflorescenses of mango. They are known to visit the flowers of Bombak, Salmalia and other large flowers for nectar and get covered on the head and throat with pollen, giving them a golden-headed appearance.
The birds roost alone during the non-breeding season but may roost side-by-side during the breeding season, sometimes with the newly fledged juvenile sandwiched between the adults. The roost sites chosen are thin twigs on trees with cover above them and were often close to human habitation and lights.
_nest_in_hyderabad,_ap_w_img_7248.jpg)
The breeding season is March to December peaking from June to August in India, coinciding with the wet season. In Sri Lanka the main breeding season is March to May and August to September, although they do breed throughout the year. Although the name is derived from the nest, the nest is not unique and similar nests are also found in many Prinia
warblers. The nest is a deep, soft cup lined with soft materials and is placed in thick foliage and the leaves used to hold the nest have the upper surfaces outwards so that the nest is difficult to spot. The punctures made on the edge of the leaves are minute and do not cause browning of the leaves, further aiding camouflage. The nest lining of a nest in Sri Lanka that was studied by Casey Wood was found to be lined with lint from Euphorbia, Ceiba pentandra and Bombax malabaricum species. Jerdon
had noted that the bird made knots, however no knots have been described by subsequent observers. Wood classified the processes used by the tailorbird in nest as sewing, rivetting, lacing and matting. In some cases the nest is made from a single large leaf; the margins of which are rivetted together. Sometimes the fibres from one rivet are extended into an adjoining puncture and appearing more like sewing. The stitch is made by piercing two leaves and drawing fibre through them. The fibres fluff out on the outside and in effect they are more like rivets. There are many variations in the nest and some may altogether lack the cradle of leaves. One observer noted that the birds did not utilize cotton that was made available while another observer, Edward Hamilton Aitken
, was able to induce them to use artificially supplied cotton. The usual clutch is three eggs. It is said that only the female stitches the leaves of the nest. The incubation period is about 12 days. Both male and female feed the young. Mortality of eggs and chicks are high due to predation by rodents, cats, crow-pheasants, lizards and other predators. The incubation period is about 12–14 days and the young birds fledge in about 14 days. The female alone incubates according to some sources, while others suggest that both sexes incubate but both parents take part in feeding and sanitation. The males are said to feed the incubating female. An unusual case of a pair of tailorbirds adopting chicks in an artificially translocated nest belonging to a different pair has been recorded. Nests are sometimes parasitized by the Plaintive Cuckoo
(Cacomantis merulinus).
in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
, one of his Jungle Book stories, includes a tailorbird couple, Darzee (which means "tailor" in Urdu) and his wife, as two of the key characters. Darzee's wife is said to have feigned injury, but this behaviour is unknown in this species. The local names of the bird in India include phutki (Hindi) and tuntuni (Bengali). A classic book of children's folk tales in Bengali
by Upendrakishore Ray
is titled "Tuntunir Boi".
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
found across tropical Asia. Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
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. They are distinctive in having a greenish upper body plumage, long upright tail and the rust coloured forehead and crown. This passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
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.
Taxonomy and systematics
The scientific name sutorius means "cobbler" rather than "tailor" while Orthotomus means "straight-cutting".The species was earlier placed in the family Sylviidae
Sylviidae
Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...
but more recent molecular studies place the species within the family Cisticolidae, along with Prinia
Prinia
The prinias are a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They are often also alternatively classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae. The name of the genus is derived from the Javanese prinya, the local name for the Bar-winged Prinia.The...
and Cisticola
Cisticola
Cisticolas are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other southern warbler genera. They are believed to be quite closely related to the swallows and...
.
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 fernandonis is found in the highlands of Sri Lanka. Neighbouring India has guzuratus in the peninsula and west to Pakistan while towards the north patia is found in the Terai of Nepal along the Himalayan foothills until Myanmar. A small population of patia is also found in the northern Eastern Ghats (Wangasara). The hills of northeastern India have luteus. In Southeast Asia inexpectatus and maculicollis are found in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. South east China, including the island of Hainan, and Tonkin in Vietnam have longicauda while edela is found on Java.
Description
The Common Tailorbird is a brightly coloured bird, with bright green upperparts and whitish underparts. They range in size from 10 – and weigh 6 –. They have short rounded wings, a long tail, strong legs and a sharp bill with curved tip to the upper mandible. They are wrenWren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....
-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, except that the male has long central tail feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s in the breeding season. (The reliability of sexing of specimens in determining this difference has been questioned by Hugh Whistler
Hugh Whistler
Hugh Whistler , F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. was an English ornithologist who worked in India. He wrote one of the first field guides to Indian birds and documented the distributions of in numerous notes in several journals apart from describing several new subspecies.-Life and career:Whistler was born in...
.) Young birds are duller. When calling the dark patches on the sides of the neck become visible. These are due to the dark pigmented and bare skin that are present in both sexes and sometimes give the appearance of a dark gorget.
Behaviour and ecology
Tailorbirds are found in singly or in pairs, usually low in the undergrowth or trees sometimes hopping on the ground. They forage for insets and have been known to feed on a range of beetles and bugsHemiptera
Hemiptera is an order of insects most often known as the true bugs , comprising around 50,000–80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others...
. They are attracted to insects at flowers and are known to favour the inflorescenses of mango. They are known to visit the flowers of Bombak, Salmalia and other large flowers for nectar and get covered on the head and throat with pollen, giving them a golden-headed appearance.
The birds roost alone during the non-breeding season but may roost side-by-side during the breeding season, sometimes with the newly fledged juvenile sandwiched between the adults. The roost sites chosen are thin twigs on trees with cover above them and were often close to human habitation and lights.
Breeding
Prinia
The prinias are a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They are often also alternatively classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae. The name of the genus is derived from the Javanese prinya, the local name for the Bar-winged Prinia.The...
warblers. The nest is a deep, soft cup lined with soft materials and is placed in thick foliage and the leaves used to hold the nest have the upper surfaces outwards so that the nest is difficult to spot. The punctures made on the edge of the leaves are minute and do not cause browning of the leaves, further aiding camouflage. The nest lining of a nest in Sri Lanka that was studied by Casey Wood was found to be lined with lint from Euphorbia, Ceiba pentandra and Bombax malabaricum species. Jerdon
Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
had noted that the bird made knots, however no knots have been described by subsequent observers. Wood classified the processes used by the tailorbird in nest as sewing, rivetting, lacing and matting. In some cases the nest is made from a single large leaf; the margins of which are rivetted together. Sometimes the fibres from one rivet are extended into an adjoining puncture and appearing more like sewing. The stitch is made by piercing two leaves and drawing fibre through them. The fibres fluff out on the outside and in effect they are more like rivets. There are many variations in the nest and some may altogether lack the cradle of leaves. One observer noted that the birds did not utilize cotton that was made available while another observer, Edward Hamilton Aitken
Edward Hamilton Aitken
Edward Hamilton Aitken was a civil servant in India, better known for his humorist writings on natural history in India and as a founding member of the Bombay Natural History Society...
, was able to induce them to use artificially supplied cotton. The usual clutch is three eggs. It is said that only the female stitches the leaves of the nest. The incubation period is about 12 days. Both male and female feed the young. Mortality of eggs and chicks are high due to predation by rodents, cats, crow-pheasants, lizards and other predators. The incubation period is about 12–14 days and the young birds fledge in about 14 days. The female alone incubates according to some sources, while others suggest that both sexes incubate but both parents take part in feeding and sanitation. The males are said to feed the incubating female. An unusual case of a pair of tailorbirds adopting chicks in an artificially translocated nest belonging to a different pair has been recorded. Nests are sometimes parasitized by the Plaintive Cuckoo
Plaintive Cuckoo
The Plaintive Cuckoo is a species of bird belonging to the genus Cacomantis in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is native to Asia, from India and China to Indonesia.-Description:...
(Cacomantis merulinus).
In culture
Rudyard KiplingRudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a short story in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling about the adventures of a valiant young mongoose.The story is notable for its frightening and serious tone. It has often been anthologised and has also been published more than once as a short book in its own right...
, one of his Jungle Book stories, includes a tailorbird couple, Darzee (which means "tailor" in Urdu) and his wife, as two of the key characters. Darzee's wife is said to have feigned injury, but this behaviour is unknown in this species. The local names of the bird in India include phutki (Hindi) and tuntuni (Bengali). A classic book of children's folk tales in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
by Upendrakishore Ray
Upendrakishore Ray
Upendrokishore Ray , also known as Upendrakishore Raychowdhury was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer. He was born on 10 May 1863 in a little village called Moshua in Mymensingh District in Bengal, now in Bangladesh...
is titled "Tuntunir Boi".