Bird Watching - Common Tailorbird

Common Tailorbird

This is frequent visitor in my neighborhood  these days,  But very difficult to spot as it is a very small and easily camouflage with the surroundings. Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence.

The common tailorbird is a brightly coloured bird, with bright green upper-parts and creamy underparts. They range in size from 10 to 14 centimetres

Local Names:  Darzee, Phutki (Hindi)

                     Panakkuruvi (Malayalam)

                     Thaiyal Chittu Pon Chittu (Tamil)

They are distinctive in having a long upright tail, greenish upper body plumage and rust coloured forehead and crown. Tailorbirds get their name from the way their nest is constructed. They are typically found in open woodland, scrub and gardens.

The sexes are identical, except that the male has long central tail feathers in the breeding season. They are attracted to insects at flowers and are known to favour the inflorescences of mango.

The birds roost alone during the non-breeding season but may roost side-by-side during the breeding season. The roost sites chosen are thin twigs on trees with cover above them and were often close to human habitation and lights.

Nest- a rough cup of soft fibers, cotton wool and vegetable down placed in a funnel fashioned by cleverly folding over and stitching along edges one or more large plant leaves.

Eggs- 3 or 4 reddish or bluish white , spotted with brownish red

The incubation period is about 12 days. Both male and female feed the young. The young birds fledge in about 14 days. 

References

The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)

Wikipedia

Pictures:

TVH Taus, Chennai (2020)