The birds flew to a perch some distance from the nest, looked around, then when all was clear, flew directly to the nest left. The birds did not pose for him with the food — they moved around fast and KC had to act just as fast, missing many opportunities and spending a total of about three hours in the field.
He was impressed by the diversity of food brought to the nest, as shown in the images below left to right, top to bottom row : moth, spider 1, bug, spider 2, spider 3, bee, termite, caterpillar and grasshopper.
It is common, mostly in the lowlands, but can range as high as ft. Both sexes are similar, but male has long central tail feathers in breeding plumage, and female has less rufous on forehead. Juvenile is duller than adults. We can find a similar species, the Ashy Tailorbird orthotomus ruficeps with red face.
It is grey overall and has shorter tail. The nest is so skilfully put together that it is almost impossible to tell it apart from its surroundings without carefully observing the behaviour of the birds. The real nest, however, lies within the sewn cup.
The male collects and fills the cup with fine grass and lines the sides with other soft material such as animal hairs and plant downs. Tailorbirds often use feathers and fur to fill the leaf cup, because those materials tend to insulate the nest better than anything else. Green plant material is also used, which helps with thermoregulation and reduces the possibility of parasites such as lice.
A rare capture of a common tailorbird laying eggs in its nest, in Mumbai, India. The nest is usually built low, at about a metre above ground level. Breeding season varies between species and can be year-round. The female lays between three and five pale blue eggs with brown flecks, usually one every morning, and the male feeds her while she incubates over 12 days.
Once the eggs hatch, both parents take part in feeding and raising the chicks, including sanitation. The parents initially swallow the faecal sac so as to avoid leaving the chicks alone and vulnerable to predation. They eventually carry and drop the sacs some distance away to reduce the risk of disease and being exposed by sight and smell - a fine example of the evolution of nest hygiene within altricial passerines. The chicks fledge at about three weeks and the nest is abandoned. The abandoned nest may be picked apart and reused by another common tailorbird couple, continuing the cycle of sophisticated nest creation.
Get email updates about our news, science, exhibitions, events, products, services and fundraising activities. You must be over the age of Privacy notice. Smart cookie preferences. Change cookie preferences Accept all cookies. Skip to content. Gulp Young battle for every scrap. Brown and olive-green plumage conceals the common tailorbird as it hunts tirelessly in undergrowth for food. The long-billed forest tailorbird, Orthotomus moreaui, is one of two tailorbird species in eastern Africa.
This rare bird exhibits the same nest-building skills as the rest of the genus. Similar in shape and size to the common tailorbird, and with an equally long tail, this warbler is mainly grayish-brown above and paler below.
Of these, 9 occur in southeastern Asia and 2, the forest warblers, are found in East Africa. Orthotomus is 1 of 67 genera in the family Sylviidae. Most of these species are Old World warblers — small, insect-eating birds. They include a number of familiar woodland species of Europe. Next post: Common Yellow throat Birds.
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