The Visayan tailorbird (''Orthotomus castaneiceps''), also known as the Philippine tailorbird or the chestnut-crowned tailorbird is a species of bird formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, but now placed in the family
Cisticolidae
The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae.
This family probably originated ...
. It is native to the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in
Western Visayas
Western Visayas (; ; ) is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. The region comprises the islands of Panay and Guimaras Island, Guimaras. It consists of five Provinces of the ...
. Its natural
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s are tropical moist lowland
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s, tropical mangrove forests and secondary growth.
Description
EBird
eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...
describes the bird as "A small, long-billed, long-tailed bird of dense tangled undergrowth in lowland forest. Has olive-green wings and tail, a pale belly, a gray back of the neck, a gray back, and a gray chest with streaks. Note rufous cap and orange legs. Somewhat similar to leaf-warblers, but has a longer bill and a rufous cap. Song consists of a medium-pitched, whistled melody, 'plik-wod plick-wee,' sometimes given in duet. Also gives downslurred nasal scolds."
It was formerly conspecific with
trilling tailorbird.
It is presumed to eat insects and it is typically found in dense tangled undergrowth.
Subspecies
Two
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are recognized:
* ''O. c. castaneiceps''
Walden
''Walden'' (; first published as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is an 1854 book by American transcendentalism, transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. T ...
, 1872 – found on
Bantayan Island
Bantayan Island is an island located in the Visayan Sea, Philippines. It is situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu, across the Tañon Strait. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of .
The island is administratively divi ...
,
Panay (and proximate islands),
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...
and
Ticao Island
Ticao Island is an island with a total land area of . It is one of the three major islands of Masbate province in the Philippines. It is separated from the Bicol Peninsula by the Ticao Pass. The other two major islands are Masbate Island () ...
* ''O. c. rabori''
Parkes Parkes may refer to:
* Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation
Named for Henry Parkes
* Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town
* Parkes Observatory, a radi ...
, 1961 – found on
Negros
Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...
and possibly
Cebu
Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
Ecology and behavior
It is known to feed on small invertebrates and is usually seen foraging in dense undergrowth, typically in pairs.
The breeding season is believed to be at least from March to May. Their nest is typically placed 2 to 10 meters above the ground on the tip of a branch or leaf of a fern. Like all tailorbirds, the nest is complex and sown together to form a pouch. Two to three eggs are laid.
Habitat and conservation status
It lives in lowland forest edges and clearings and also agricultural land and in secondary growth with tangled undergrowth. They are found mostly below 600 meters above sea level.
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...
has assessed this as being of
least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
as it is tolerant of, if not more suited to, degraded habitat.
References
Visayan tailorbird
Endemic birds of the Philippines
Birds of Cebu
Birds of Negros Island
Birds of Panay
Fauna of Masbate
Visayan tailorbird
Visayan tailorbird
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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