The species of tailorbirds listed below are small
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s of the genus '' Phyllergates ''. They were previously placed in the
Old World warbler
Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the ci ...
family Sylviidae. However, recent research suggests they more likely belong in the
Cettiidae
Cettiidae is a newly validated family of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" assemblage. It contains the typical bush warblers (''Cettia'') and their relatives. As a common name, cetti ...
.
They occur in the
Old World tropics, principally in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
.
These warblers are usually brightly colored, with green or grey upperparts and yellow white or grey underparts. They often have chestnut on the head.
Tailorbirds have short rounded wings, short tails, strong legs and long curved bills. The tail is typically held upright, like a
wren. They are 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
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
's web to make a cradle in which the actual grass nest is built.
Species list
Bibliography
*
The New Student's Reference Work/Tailor-Bird
*Ryan, Peter (2006). Family Cisticolidae (Cisticolas and allies). Pp. 378–492 in del Hoyo J., Elliott A. & Christie D.A. (2006) ''
Handbook of the Birds of the World''. Volume 11. Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers'' Lynx Edicions, Barcelona
References
Bird genera
Cettiidae
{{Cettiidae-stub