# Common Tailorbird

*Orthotomus sutorius*

They 'sew' their nests by piercing leaf edges and pulling through plant fibers or spider silk to create a secure pouch.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Cisticolidae › Orthotomus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Scrublands, deciduous forest edges, mangroves, and urban gardens.
- **Diet:** Small insects, larvae, spiders, and occasionally flower nectar.
- **Range:** India, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia
- **Size:** 10 to 14 cm in length; weighs 6 to 10 grams.
- **Lifespan:** 3 to 5 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, domestic cat predation, and pesticide use.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. These birds are active and vocal but easily startled. Keep a respectful distance, especially near stitched leaves which may contain nests. If you find a grounded fledgling, leave it be unless it is in immediate danger from cats.

## About

The common tailorbird ( Orthotomus sutorius ) is a songbird found across tropical Asia. Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling in his Jungle Book , it is a common resident in urban gardens. Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence. They are distinctive in having a long upright tail, greenish upper body plumage and rust coloured forehead and crown....

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/b1c8233d-e849-4ba1-9c26-dfaaf66f01e5
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/15347
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthotomus sutorius
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/237857636/medium.jpg (Parth Kansara, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.