Common Tailorbird cobbling its nest!

One bird that I watched and wondered in my childhood made me to continue Bird-watching as a hobby. It is the Common Tailorbird (Orthotonus sutorius, 'Thaiyal kuruvi' in Tamil). What attracted me to it so much? It is its tiny size compared to that of a hen, its incessant calls, its upright moving tail and its amazing behavior of nest - building!

Recently we found out a Tailorbird's nest hanging down and camouflaged amidst leaves of our Guava tree. In a nearby bush we also found out two fledgelings of the Tailorbird that had occupied that nest. They were stout and duller than their parents. They were seen sitting on a small twig side by side, calling, 'chiya, chiya, chiya.' My son caught them in his hands and brought them into the house and kept as pets for a day; then he released and restored them to their place of roosting. At that evening they were seen sitting with their parents cuddling them in! The next day they were not found: they flew away with their parents. We were then left with only their nest.

I closely examined their nest. Four guava leaves were seen as walls of the nest cup, edges remaining free. The silky soft cotton like lint got from the fruit of a neighboring plant formed its base. The sides had wools made out from jute tying strands. These wools were seen sticking to the inner surface of the leaves. They were also interlaced with the hairs plucked out from the cow's tail! The leaves used, contained white marks on their edges externally, that internally led as a firm white thread tethering the leaves to the inside lints! These internal 'stay wires' were seen threaded out into a hole from the inner side of the leaf and riveted not only to the outer surface of the leaf but also to its inner surface!

It is a really wonder bird that its presence can be easily identified in spite of its tiny size, by its call and frequent movements among leaves!