Common Iora

Non breeding Common Iora

                 Introduction of Common Iora

        Common Iora (Scientific Name: Aegithina tiphia) is a non-migrant resident small bird of Order  Passeriformes living high up in the canopy. Length of this bird is 13-17 cm and Weight is 13 gr.

                      How to Identify Common Iora

         Adult males during breeding season have a black cap, black upperparts but face is bright yellow and underpart is also and rich yellow.Wings are black with white bars which remain same always. Other time( except the breeding season)  upperpart's plumage of a male is greenish-yellow and dull yellow underparts. Forehead, eyebrow, and crown is olive-green crown. Wings are grey-black. Bill is pointed, notched with a straight culmen and blue-grey in color. Eyes are black. Irises are blackish in males and pale yellow in females.Legs and feet are slaty blue-grey. Females have greenish wings and an olive colored tail, similar in appearance to a non breeding male.

                        Habits and Habitats

         These Common Iora species have moderate forest dependence. These species normally occur at an elevation from 0 to 2000 meters.The natural ecosystems of these species include tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, evergreen forests, mangrove forests, open wooded country, and tropical swamps.  It tends to stay up in high trees, but also in edges of bushes, hedges and paths. Common Iora  is very active and  quite vocal and can produce a wide variety of calls. Sometimes it hangs  upside down from branches. It catches insects on the wing. It shows acrobatic flight displays, darting up and spiraling down to a perch. It lives in pairs or in small groups and utters contact calls through frequent sounds.
                Food
        Common Iora feeds mainly on insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, dragonflies and mantises. It also consumes spiders and small insects, fruit, berries and nectar.
                Call
       Common Iora can produce a variety of notes. The most  classical call  heard is the whistle slightly quavering, or several notes ending with a sudden modulation“twiii tuiii twiiii.” Apart from this, it utters variable “chirrs” and chattering. The song is a trilled “wheeeee-tee.”
During the breeding season, males display by fluffing up their feathers and spiral in the air appearing like a green, black, yellow and white ball.
                 Distribution
        The Common Iora species are distributed in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, south China, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Philippines. In India, except  the arid regions, these common Iora species are distributed in all the states. They are also found in South West China and Southeast Asia.
       There are several subspecies as below
   *Aegithina tiphia multicolor  is distributed in southern India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, TamilNadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka.
  *Aegithina tiphia septentrionalis is distributed in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
  *Aegithina tiphia tiphia is distributed in foot of Himalayas in India (Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram), Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and west Myanmar.
   *Aegithina tiphia humei is distributed in central India (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal).
   *Aegithina tiphia cambodiana found in South East Thailand and South Indochina.
   *Aegithina tiphia aequanimis found in West Philippines (Palawan) and North Borneo (Sabah).
   *Aegithina tiphia viridis are found in Borneo (except North).
   * Aegithina tiphia scapularis are found in  Java and Bali.
   *Aegithina tiphia philipi are found in  South Central China (Yunnan), East Myanmar, North and Central Thailand and North and Central Indochina.
   *Aegithina tiphia deignani are found in  Myanmar (except West, East and South).
   *Aegithina tiphia horizoptera are found in  South Myanmar and Central Thailand  to Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra .

Male Common Iora with breeding plumage

                       Breeding and Nesting

         Common Iora is monogamous bird. In Indian Subcontinent,breeding season of Common Iora is from December, January to September. It shows a spectacular courtship displays. During the breeding season, males performs acrobatic flight display. It darts up into the air and  at about one or two meters up it fluffs its rump  and the long white flank feathers. Then, it spirals down; appearing like a green, black, yellow and white ball to its perch where it spreads its tail as a fan, and drops its wings.  During these displays, male utters soft, mournful whistles, or alternatively, a continuous chirrup.
        Common Iora make nest usually in a fork, at the end of a branch, in small tree. It makes a loose, deep cup like nest by weaving together grass and plant fibers  and consolidate it  with silk of spider webs on the external side. The clutch consists of  2 to 4 eggs. Eggs are greenish-white , blotched and spotted with reddish-brown. The male hatches during the day and the female incubates during the night. The chicks hatch out in 14 days. Both parents take the responsibility to brood the chicks and to  feed them.