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tailorbird

 
Dictionary: tai·lor·bird   ('lər-bûrd') pronunciation

n.
Any of several Old World tropical passerine birds of the genus Orthotomus, that characteristically stitch leaves together with plant fibers to make nests.


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WordNet: tailorbird
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: tropical Asian warbler that stitches leaves together to form and conceal its nest
  Synonym: Orthotomus sutorius


Wikipedia: Tailorbird
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Tailorbird
Common Tailorbirds (Orthotomus sutorius)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cisticolidae
Genus: Orthotomus
Horsfield, 1821
Species

O. metopias
O. moreaui
O. cuculatus
O. sutorius
O. heterolaemus
O. atrogularis
O. castaneiceps
O. frontalis
O. derbianus
O. sericeus
O. ruficeps
O. sepium
O. samarensis
O. nigriceps
O. cinereiceps

Tailorbirds are small birds belonging to the genus Orthotomus often placed in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. Recent research though suggests they more likely belong in the Cisticolidae and they are treated as such in Del Hoyo et al. (2006). One species, the Mountain Tailorbird (and therefore also its sister species Rufous-headed Tailorbird), is actually closer to an old world warbler genus Cettia.[1]

They occur in the Old World tropics, principally in Asia.

These warblers are usually brightly coloured, with green or grey uppperparts and yellow white or grey underparts. 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's web to make a cradle in which the actual grass nest is built.

Species List

Two species have been found to be only distantly related to Orthotomus and probably better regarded as a separate genus Artisornis.[2]:

Plus the two species likely to be moved to the Cettiidae:

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Alström, Per; Ericson, P.G.P.; Olsson, U.; Sundberg, P. (2006). "Phylogeny and classification of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38 (2): 381–397. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.015. 
  2. ^ Nguembock, B; Fjeldsa, J.; Tillier, A.; Pasquet, E. (2007). "A phylogeny for the Cisticolidae (Aves: Passeriformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, and a re-interpretation of a unique nest-building specialization". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42 (1): 272–286. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.07.008. 

 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tailorbird" Read more