The Common tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius ) is a songbird found across tropical Asia. These birds are popular for their nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as Darzee in his Jungle Book. Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence. Tailor birds in Punjab used to lay shiny red eggs but became extinct about 1975 because they lay eggs in fields used to grow fodder crops.
These are brightly colored birds, with bright green upperparts and creamy underparts. They have short rounded wings, a long tail, strong legs, and a sharp bill with a 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. Their underside is creamy white. The sexes are identical, except that the male has long central tail feathers in the breeding season, although the reliability of sexing data accompanying museum specimens used in determining this sexual dimorphism has been questioned. 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 is present in both sexes and sometimes gives the appearance of a dark gorget.
Common tailorbirds are found in South Asia and Southeast Asia. They don’t migrate and live year-round in tropical moist forests, mangroves, montane forests, shrublands, open woodlands, plantations, gardens, and urban areas.
Common tailorbirds are active during the day. They can be seen singly or in pairs, usually low in the undergrowth or trees, sometimes hopping on the ground. They 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. They like to roost on thin twigs on trees with the cover above them and often close to human habitation and lights. The song of these birds is a loud ‘cheeup-cheeup-cheeup’ and varies across the populations. The disyllabic calls are repeated often.
Common tailorbirds are carnivorous (insectivorous) birds. They feed mainly on insects and have been known to eat beetles and bugs. They are attracted to insects at flowers and are known to favor the inflorescences of mango. They also visit flowers for nectar and are sometimes covered in pollen which gives them a golden-headed appearance.
Common tailorbirds are monogamous and form pairs. They breed from March to December peaking from June to August in India. In Sri Lanka, the main breeding periods are March to May and August to September, although they can breed throughout the year. Only the female builds the nest, however, the males may accompany her when she is gathering building materials. The nest is a deep cup, lined with soft materials and placed in thick foliage; the leaves holding the nest have the upper surfaces outwards making it 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. In some cases, the nest is made from a single large leaf, the margins of which are riveted together. Sometimes the fibres from one rivet are extended into an adjoining puncture and appear 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. The female lays a clutch of 3 to 5 eggs which are then incubated for about 12 days. Both parents feed their chicks that fledge in about 14 days.
The Common tailorbird doesn’t face any major threats at present.
According to IUCN Red List, the Common tailorbird is common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. It has been estimated that the population in China consists of around 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today remain stable.
