Ashy Tailorbird

The ashy tailorbird is a small, active, long-billed bird with ashy-grey upperparts, a dark-tipped tail often held cocked, and a diagnostic orange-rufous face. Males have greyer underparts, while females generally show a whiter throat and belly with grey flanks. The combination of orange face and grey body separates it from other tailorbirds sharing parts of its coastal Southeast Asian range (eBird; Singapore NParks; Singapore Garden Bird Watch).

This tailorbird is closely associated with mangroves, swamp forest, coastal scrub and riverside vegetation, although it may use nearby gardens where dense cover survives. It gleans small invertebrates among leaves and tangled stems, often staying low. The female forms a nest pouch by stitching living leaves together, a behaviour that gives tailorbirds their name. General accounts report clutches of two to six pale blue eggs, with both parents helping incubate and rear the young (BirdForum Opus).