Photo © by Alok Tewari
New Delhi, India, 19 May 2013
- Orthotomus sutorius
Identification
12cm
Olive above, cream buff below, rufous thighs, long bill, legs and tail
Male: rufous centre of crown, white sides of head, black neck patches, white underparts
Female: rufous forehead
Distribution
Asia: found in China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Hong Kong
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 9 subspecies[1]:
- O. s. guzuratus: Pakistan and peninsula India
- O. s. patia: Terai of Nepal to north-eastern India and Myanmar
- O. s. luteus: North-eastern India (north-eastern Assam) to northern Myanmar
- O. s. sutorius: Plains and foothills of Sri Lanka
- O. s. fernandonis: Central highlands of Sri Lanka
- O. s. inexpectatus: Eastern Myanmar, Laos, Yunnan and northern Thailand
- O. s. longicauda: South-eastern China, Hainan and north-eastern Indochina
- O. s. maculicollis: South-eastern Myanmar to southern Malay Peninsula and southern Indochina
- O. s. edela: Java
Habitat
Scrub, urban gardens, parkland, open woodland, farmland and plantations.
Behaviour
A very restless bird
Breeding
The nest is built in a shrub and made from a large leaf; the edges are pierced and stitched together with spider's web or plant fibre. The cup is lined with grass. The clutch consists of 3–5 pale blue eggs with brown speckles. The eggs are incubated by the female. Both sexes care for the young which fledge after about 24 days.
Diet
The diet includes insects, larvae, berries, fruits, nectar and seeds.
Vocalisation
Call: loud chwee-o; chi-up; chee-rup.
Recording © by Alok Tewari
Faridabad, Haryana, India, Sep.-2016
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- BirdForum Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Common Tailorbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Common_Tailorbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
