Orthotomus sutorius
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The common tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) is a songbird found across tropical and subtropical Asia. Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as Darzee in his Jungle Book, it is a common resident in urban gardens. Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence. They are distinctive in having a long upright tail, greenish upper body plumage and rust coloured forehead and crown. This passerine bird is typically found in open farmland, scrub, forest edges 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 silk to make a cradle in which the actual nest is built.
The scientific name sutorius means "cobbler" rather than "tailor" while Orthotomus means "straight-cutting". The species was earlier placed in the family Sylviidae but more recent molecular studies place the species within the family Cisticolidae, along with Prinia and Cisticola.
A number of subspecies are recognized within its widespread range in South Asia and Southeast... Wikipedia →
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Common Tailorbird sighting in Mumbai on a given day, based on 5,991 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Common Tailorbird in Mumbai on a given day, against about 50% in September and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Mumbai's wettest months, with about 540 mm of rain against almost none in January.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Tailorbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
29th of 93
Of the 93 cities where we can rate Common Tailorbird sightings, Mumbai ranks 29th at about 60%. The best odds are in Jalandhar (India, about 90%), Raipur (India, about 80%) and Hanoi (Vietnam, about 80%).
Same family: Cisticolidae
The closest relatives of the Common Tailorbird that you can see in Mumbai (family Cisticolidae, Cisticolas and Allies) are Ashy Prinia (about 40%), Plain Prinia (about 10%) and Gray-breasted Prinia (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Tailorbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Mumbai (5,991 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
