tailor-birdn.
/ˈteɪləbəːd/, U.S. /ˈteɪlərˌbərd/ One of a number of species of Asiatic passerine singing birds, belonging to the genera Orthotomus, Prinia, Sutoria, etc., which stitch together the margins of leaves with cotton, etc., so as to form a cavity for their nest. Originally applied to a particular species ( Motacilla sutoria of Pennant, now variously called Orthotomus sutorius, Sutoria longicauda, or S. sutoria) of India and Sri Lanka.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Sylviidae (warbler) > [noun] > miscellaneous types of
tailor-bird1769
rubythroat1783
bush-goat1865
Cetti's warbler1875
tree-warbler1881
gnat-catcher1883
crombec1901
wren-warbler1924
1769 T. Pennant Indian Zool. 7/1 Motacilla Sutoria. The Tailor Bird.
1813 J. Forbes Oriental Mem. I. iii. 49 The tailor-bird of Hindostan; so called from its instinctive ingenuity in forming its nest: it..gathers cotton from the shrub, spins it to a thread by means of its long bill and slender feet, and then, as with a needle, sows the leaves neatly together to conceal its nest.
1870 P. Gillmore tr. L. Figuier Reptiles & Birds 183 The nest of the Tailor Bird is placed in a large leaf, the margins of which are sewn together so as to form a bag.
1876 J. Grant Hist. India I. xxxii. 170/1.
1895 A. Newton Dict. Birds Species of Tailor-birds more or less nearly allied are found throughout the greater part of the Indian Region.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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