Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

Orthotomus sericeus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Sepilok

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

702 Verified sightings at Sepilok From 2019 to 2026
2,301 In all 10 parks
July Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

The rufous-tailed tailorbird (Orthotomus sericeus) is a species of bird formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, it but now placed in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:31

Singapore · 2026

© Joan Theng · XC1181541 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:15

Philippines · 2026

© Kelle Moreau · XC1161829 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Duet0:45

Indonesia · 2024

© Ding Li Yong · XC894180 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~50%
2 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
3 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~30%
4 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
5 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
6 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
7 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
8 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
9 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
10 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuching 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
2 Johor Bahru 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
3 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%
4 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird in Sepilok?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird sighting in Sepilok on a given day, based on 702 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 242 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird in Sepilok?

July

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird in Sepilok on a given day, against about 20% in January–May, September and November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-tailed Tailorbird sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Which relatives of the Rufous-tailed Tailorbird live in Sepilok?

Same genus: Orthotomus

The closest relatives of the Rufous-tailed Tailorbird that you can see in Sepilok (genus Orthotomus, Typical Tailorbirds) are Ashy Tailorbird (about 60%) and Dark-necked Tailorbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Rufous-tailed Tailorbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous-tailed Tailorbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Sepilok (702 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.

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