Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as Darzee in his Jungle Book, it is a common resident in urban gardens.

Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence.

They are distinctive in having a long upright tail, greenish upper body plumage and rust coloured forehead and crown.

This passerine bird is typically found in open farmland, scrub, forest edges and gardens.

The edges of a large leaf are pierced and sewn together with plant fibre or spider silk to make a cradle in which the actual nest is built.

They have short rounded wings, a long tail, strong legs and a sharp bill with curved tip to the upper mandible.

[7] Tailorbirds are found singly or in pairs, usually low in the undergrowth or trees, sometimes hopping on the ground.

They also visit flowers such as those of Bombax, Salmalia for nectar and are sometimes covered in pollen, giving them a golden-headed appearance.

The roost sites chosen are thin twigs on trees with cover above them and were often close to human habitation and lights.

[9] "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", one of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories, includes a tailorbird couple, Darzee (which means "tailor" in Urdu) and his wife, as two of the key characters.

[19] A classic book of children's folk tales in Bengali by Upendrakishore Ray is titled "Tuntunir Boi", after the local name for the species, tuntuni.