WARBLERs are a large family of small insectivorous birds. Some are found in forests, others in mangroves, gardens or open grasslands. Many of the species are somewhat similar in appearance, they all move quickly through the vegetation, and are hard to photograph. Some recreational bird photographers give them a miss as they are simply too hard to locate and capture.
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| Bt Batok Nature Reserves, Singapore |
The tailorbids are a delightful genus of warblers, being active, vocal and attractive. But the 11-12 cm long birds which move with lightning speed through dense trees and bushes are not easy to photograph. Found in secondary growth, scrub, gardens, plantations. Their darting, low flight from thicket to thicket and continual change of perch make tailor birds hard to see well even when they are very close.
Description: Olive above, creamy buff below including buff under tail-coverts, with rufous forehead and thighs, greyish face. Often shows some grey or even blackish feather-bases on throat but always less than Black-necked Tailor Bird; distinguished from that species also by thigh colour, lack of yellow on under tail coverts, longer tail.
An active and vocal bird, it always move about low in the bushes looking for insects. Call: a loud kedeek kedeek kedeek. True to its name, it actually builds its nest inside two large leaves which it sews together using silk for thread.
