Conservation status: LEAST CONCERN
Common name: Ashy tailorbird
Scientific name: Orthotomus ruficeps
Type: Bird
Diet: insects
Length:11 – 12 cm
Weight: 5 – 7 g
The ashy tailorbird (Orthotomus ruficeps) is a species of bird formerly placed in the “Old World warbler” assemblage, it but now placed in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest.
The Ashy Tailorbird hunts for insects in the undergrowth in the mangroves. The nest is constructed by using a large leaf or 2-3 smaller leaves by pulling the edges together and they are held by strands or cotton or spider webs drawn through holes pierced along the leaf edges. The nest is lined with soft cottony materials and 2-4 eggs are laid. According to Wells (2007), they also nest in the Swamp Fern(Acrostichum aureum), using 1-2 leaflets “stitched mainly from the inside with silk in regular tailorbird fashion, often with extra, anchoring stitches run out through the leaf from the nest wall.”
References:
- BirdLife International (2012). “Orthotomus ruficeps“. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2.
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg)
- Photo by Lawrence Neo
