Bird Guide

Black-headed Tailorbird

Orthotomus nigriceps

Least ConcernEndemicInvertebratesForestTiny · 10 g

About the Black-headed Tailorbird

The black-headed tailorbird, also known as the white-browed tailorbird, is a species of songbird in the cisticola family, Cisticolidae. First formally described by the Scottish ornithologist Arthur Hay in 1877, it is endemic to the southeastern Philippines, where it is found on the islands of Mindanao, Dinagat, and Siargao. It inhabits dense undergrowth in lowland forests at elevations of up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Black-headed tailorbirds are dark tailorbirds with a characteristic head pattern. The body mass ranges from 8–14 g (0.28–0.49 oz), with an average of 10.3 g (0.36 oz), and is roughly equal in both males and females. Older sources erroneously state the mean body mass as being 7 g (0.25 oz). Birds from Mindanao have a lower average body mass, 10.1 g (0.36 oz), than birds from Dinagat and Siargao, who have an average body mass of 10.6 g (0.37 oz). The average adult length is 12 cm (4.7 in). In O. n. nigriceps, the average wing length is 48.3 mm (1.90 in), the mean bill length is 10.8 mm (0. Voice: The tailorbird's call is a series of lengthy, stuttering trills that slows as it flattens out. It is like the song of the yellow-breasted tailorbird, but has a more "metallic ringing quality". Other calls include an anxious, falling ssiirrrrpppppp and a ringing key-e ei, the second of which is similar to the long-tailed bush warbler's song.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where the Black-headed Tailorbird lives

Regular range

When to see the Black-headed Tailorbird

Peak activity in March · a variable species across most of its range

Easily confused with

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