Orthotomus longicauda (_Gm_.), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 165; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 530.
The Indian Tailor-bird[A] breeds throughout India and Burma, alike in
the plains and in the hills (_e.g._, the Himalayas and Nilgiris), up
to an elevation of from 3000 to 4000 feet.
[Footnote A: The notes on this bird's breeding are so very numerous
that I am compelled to omit several of them.--ED.]
The breeding-season lasts from May to August, both months included;
but in the plains more nests are to be found in July, and in the hills
more, I think, in June, than during the other months.
The nest has been often described and figured, and, as is well known,
is a deep soft cup enclosed in leaves, which the bird sews together to
form a receptacle for it.
It is placed at all elevations, and I have as often found it high upon
a mango-tree as low down amongst the leaves of the edible egg-plant
(_Solanum esculentum_).
The nests vary much, in appearance, according to the number and
description of leaves which the bird employs and the manner in which
it employs them; but the nest itself is usually chiefly composed of
fine cotton-wool, with a few horsehairs and, at times, a few very fine
grass-stems as a lining, apparently to keep the wool in its place and
enable the cavity to retain permanently its shape.
I have found the nests with three leaves fastened, at equal distances
from each other, into the sides of the nest, and not joined to each
other at all.
I have found them between two leaves, the one forming a high back and
turned up at the end to support the bottom of the nest, the other
hiding the nest in front and hanging down well below it, the tip only
of the first leaf being sewn to the middle of the second. I have found
them with four leaves sewn together to form a canopy and sides, from
which the bottom of the nest depended bare; and I have found them
between two long leaves, whose sides from the very tips to near the
peduncles were closely and neatly sewn together. For sewing they
generally use cobweb; but silk from cocoons, thread, wool, and
vegetable fibres are also used.
The eggs vary from three to four in number; but I find that out of
twenty-seven nests containing more or less incubated eggs, of which
I have notes, exactly two thirds contained only three, and one third
four eggs.
About the colour of the eggs there has been some dispute, but this is
owing to the birds laying two distinct types of eggs, which will be
described below. Hutton's and Jerdon's descriptions of the eggs,
_white_ spotted with rufous or reddish brown, are quite correct, but
so are those of other writers, who call them _bluish green_, similarly
marked. Tickell, who gives them as "pale greenish blue, with irregular
patches, especially towards the larger end, resembling dried stains
of blood, and irregular and _broken lines scratched round_, forming
a zone near the larger end," had of course got hold of the eggs of a
_Franklinia_. I have taken hundreds of both types, and I note that, as
in the case of _Dicrurus ater_, eggs of the two types are never found
in the same nest. All the eggs in each nest always belong to one or
the other type.
The parent birds that lay these very different looking eggs certainly
do not differ; that I have positively satisfied _myself_.
I quote an exact description of a nest which I took at Bareilly, and
which was recorded on the spot:--
"Three of the long ovato-lanceolate leaves of the mango, whose
peduncles sprang from the same point, had been neatly drawn together
with gossamer threads run through the sides of the leaves and knotted
outside, so as to form a cavity like the end of a netted purse, with a
wide slit on the side nearest the trunk beginning near the bottom and
widening upwards. Inside this, the real nest, nearly 3 inches deep and
about 2 inches in diameter, was neatly constructed of wool and fine
vegetable fibres, the bottom being thinly lined with horsehair. In
this lay three tiny delicate bluish-white eggs, with a few pale
reddish-brown blotches at the large ends, and just a very few spots
and specks of the same colour elsewhere."
Dr. Jerdon says:--"The Tailor-bird makes its nest with cotton, wool,
and various other soft materials, sometimes also lined with hair, and
draws together one leaf or more, generally two leaves, on each side
of the nest, and stitches them together with cotton, either woven
by itself, or cotton-thread picked up, and after passing the thread
through the leaf, it makes a knot at the end to fix it. I have seen
a Tailor-bird at Saugor watch till the native tailor had left the
verandah where he had been working, fly in, seize some pieces of the
thread that were lying about, and go off in triumph with them; this
was repeated in my presence several days running. I have known
many different trees selected to build in; in gardens very often a
guava-tree. The nest is generally built at from 2 to 4 feet above the
ground. The eggs are two, three, or four in number, and in every case
which I have seen were white spotted with reddish brown chiefly at
the large end.... Layard describes one nest made of cocoanut-fibre
entirely, with a dozen leaves of oleander drawn and stitched together.
I cannot call to recollection ever having seen a nest made with more
than two leaves.... Pennant gives the earliest, though somewhat
erroneous, account of the nest. He says: 'The bird picks up a dead
leaf and, surprising to relate, sews it to the side of a living one.'"
I have often seen nests made between many leaves, and I have seen
plenty with a dead leaf stitched to a yet living one; but in these
points my experience entirely coincides with that of the late Mr. A.
Anderson, whose note I proceed to quote:--
"The dry leaves that are sometimes met with attached to the nest of
this species, and which gave rise to the erroneous idea that the bird
picks up a dead leaf and, surprising to relate, sews it to the side of
a living one, are easily accounted for.
"I took a nest of the Tailor-bird a short time ago" (11th July,
1871) from a brinjal plant (_Solanum esculentum_), which had all
the appearance of having had dry leaves attached to it. The nest
originally consisted of _three_ leaves, but two of them had been
pierced (in the act of passing the thread through them) to excess, and
had in consequence not only decayed, _but actually separated from the
stem of the plant_. These decayed leaves were hanging from the side of
the nest by a mere thread, and could have been removed with perfect
safety. Perhaps instinct teaches the birds to injure certain leaves in
order that they may decay?
"Jerdon says that he does not remember ever having seen a nest made
with more than two leaves. I have found the nest of this species
vary considerably in appearance, size, and in the number of leaves
employed, and, I would also add, in the site selected, as well as in
the markings of the eggs, which latter never exceed four in number.
"The nest already described was built hardly _2 feet off the ground_,
was rather clumsy (if I might use such an expression), and was
composed of _three_ leaves. The eggs were white, covered with
brownish-pink blotches almost coalescing at the large end. Another
nest, taken in my presence (July, again, which is the general time)
from the _very top of a high tree_, was enclosed inside of _one_ leaf,
the sides being neatly sewn together, and the cavity at the bottom
lined with wool, down, and horsehair. These eggs (four) are covered,
chiefly at the larger ends, with minute red spots.
"A third nest seen by me was composed of _seven_ or _eight leaves_".
Captain Hutton tells us that he has seen many nests. All were
"composed of cotton, wool, vegetable fibre, and horsehair, formed in
the shape of a deep cup or purse, enclosed between two long leaves,
the edges of which were sewed to the sides of the nest, in a manner to
support it, by threads spun by the bird."
He adds that the birds, though common at their bases, do not ascend
the hills; but this is a mistake, for I have repeatedly taken nests
at elevations of over 3000 feet; and Mr. Gammie, writing from Sikhim,
says:--"We often find nests of this species near my house at Mongphoo
(which is at an elevation of about 3500 feet). I took one there on the
16th May, which contained four hard-set eggs. It was in a calicarpa
tree and between two of its long ovate leaves, the terminal halves of
which were sewn together by the edges, so as to form a purse in which
the real nest was placed. Yellow silk of some wild silkworm was the
sewing material used."
Again, writing from the Nilgiris, Miss Cockburn remarks:--"The
Tailor-bird is seldom met with on the highest ranges, but appears to
prefer the warmer climates enjoyed at the elevation of about 3500 or
4000 feet. They often build in the coffee-trees; a nest now before me
was built on a coffee-tree, two of the leaves of which were bent down
and sewn together. The threads are of cobweb, and the cavity is lined
with the down of seed-pods and fine grass. At the back of the nest the
leaves are made to meet, but are a little apart in front, so as to
form an opening for the birds to hop in and out. The depth of the nest
inside is 2½ inches. It was found in the month of June, and contained
four eggs, which were white spotted with light red."
Of its breeding in Nepal, Dr. Scully tells us:--"It breeds freely in
the valley at an elevation of 4500 feet. I took many of its nests in
the Residency grounds, Rani Jangal, &c., in May, June, and July."
Major C.T. Bingham writes:--"The Indian Tailor-bird breeds in April,
May, and June, both at Allahabad and at Delhi. The nest formed of one,
two, and occasionally three, leaves neatly sewn so as to form a cone,
and lined with the down of the madar, is well known."