Tailorbirds 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, most belonging to the genus ''Orthotomus''. While they were often 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, recent research suggests they more likely belong in the

Cisticolidae The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. This family probably originate ...

and they are treated as such in Del Hoyo et al. One former species, the mountain tailorbird (and therefore also its sister species rufous-headed tailorbird), is actually closer to an old world warbler genus ''

Cettia ''Cettia'' is a genus of small insectivorous songbirds (" warblers") which make up the core of the newly recognized family Cettiidae. They were formerly placed in the Sylviidae, which at that time was a wastebin taxon for the warbler-like Sylv ...

''. 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 upper parts and yellow white or grey under parts. 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. Tailorbird baby

Species

The genus contains 13 species: * Common tailorbird, ''Orthotomus sutorius'' * Dark-necked tailorbird, ''Orthotomus atrogularis'' * Cambodian tailorbird, ''Orthotomus chaktomuk'' *

Philippine tailorbird The Philippine tailorbird (''Orthotomus castaneiceps'') is a species of bird formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, but now placed in the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the western Philippines. Its natural habitats are subt ...

, ''Orthotomus castaneiceps'' *

Trilling tailorbird The trilling tailorbird or green-backed tailorbird (''Orthotomus chloronotus'') is a species of bird formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, but now placed in the family Cisticolidae. The bird is endemic to the northern Philippine ...

, ''Orthotomus chloronotus'' * Rufous-fronted tailorbird, ''Orthotomus frontalis'' * Grey-backed tailorbird, ''Orthotomus derbianus'' * Rufous-tailed tailorbird, ''Orthotomus sericeus'' * Ashy tailorbird, ''Orthotomus ruficeps'' * Olive-backed tailorbird, ''Orthotomus sepium'' *

Yellow-breasted tailorbird The yellow-breasted tailorbird (''Orthotomus samarensis'') is a species of passerine bird formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, but now placed in the family Cisticolidae. Distribution The species is endemic to Samar, Leyte and B ...

, ''Orthotomus samarensis'' * Black-headed tailorbird, ''Orthotomus nigriceps'' * White-eared tailorbird, ''Orthotomus cinereiceps'' Two species moved to 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 ...

: * Mountain tailorbird, ''Phyllergates cucullatus'' * Rufous-headed tailorbird, ''Phyllergates heterolaemus''

References

Bibliography

* The New Student's Reference Work/Tailor-Bird * Baker, Kevin. ''Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa''. (2007). * Ryan, Peter (2006). Family Cisticolidae (Cisticolas and allies). Pp. 378–492 in del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D.A. (editors). (2006). '' Handbook of the Birds of the World''. Volume 11. Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers''.

Lynx Edicions Lynx Edicions is a Spanish publishing company specializing in ornithology and natural history. History Lynx Edicions was founded in Barcelona by , a lawyer and collector; , a naturalist; and , a medical doctor and writer. Since 2002, the company ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

External links

Call of the common tailorbird
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18340387 Cisticolidae *