Black-headed Tailorbird (Orthotomus nigriceps)

About the Black-headed Tailorbird

The black-headed tailorbird (Orthotomus nigriceps), 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). Black-headed tailorbirds show three distinct phenotypes, which correspond to different stages of maturity: adults have a 'black' phenotype, immature birds have a 'mottled' phenotype, and juveniles have a 'grey' phenotype. These phenotypes were previously incorrectly thought to be related to differences between the sexes or to represent different species.