Ashy Tailorbird - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by SeeToh
Garden by the Bay, Singapore, August 2017

Orthotomus ruficeps

Identification

Photo by creaturesnapper
Singapore, September, 2017

12cm (4¾ in).
Male:

• Dark ashy-grey
• Whitish abdomen
• Rufous face, crown and throat

Female:

• Paler and duller than the male
• Pale chest and white belly
  

Juvenile: Paler with whitish throat

Distribution

Southeast Asia (endemic): found in Indochina, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Island of Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sundas, Bali

Taxonomy

Olive-backed Tailorbird was considered conspecific with this species, but the split is widely accepted now.

Subspecies

Juvenile
Photo by SeeToh
Chinese Garden, Singapore, August 2017

Clements recognises 8 subspecies^[1]:

• O. r. cineraceus:

• Southern Myanmar to Malaysia, Indochina, Sumatra and adjacent islands

• O. r. baeus:

• Nias and Pagai islands (off western Sumatra)

• O. r. concinnus:

• Siberut and Sipoura islands (off western Sumatra)

• O. r. ruficeps:

• Coastal mangroves of Java

• O. r. palliolatus:

• Kangean and Karimunjawa islands (Java Sea)

• O. r. baweanus:

• Bawean Island (Java Sea)

• O. r. borneoensis:

• Borneo

• O. r. cagayanensis:

• Cagayan Sulu (south-western Philippines)

Habitat

Mainly mangroves but also swampy forest and coastal scrub, forest edges, open country, lowland plantations, wooded gardens and secondary jungle.

Diet

They are often seen feeding on small insects in pairs or small family group.

Breeding

The females sew a pouch from a large living leaf for their nest; the leaf is curled together by twisting spider web strands around it, the edges are joined together by making tiny holes on the edges of leaf with their pointed bills and finally through the holes, they lace through fibres from bark or cottony seed fibres. 2-6 pale blue eggs are laid and both parents incubate and raise the young. Chicks fledge in about 2 weeks. ^[1]

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Memo (1).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by wavethree
Pulau Ubin, Singapore

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Naturia
4. BF Member observations

External Links

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