Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) by Clement Francis

By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:12 NKJV)

While looking through ajmithra’s YouTubes, I came across this video about the Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) and thought I would share it. I always enjoy how he takes the sounds of birds and turns them into music. The little puffy cheeks are cute.

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A j mithra (ajmithra as he prefers) has written many articles for our blog. Check out his page here and his YouTube videos.

Ioras are in the Aegithinidae – Ioras family of small passerine bird species found in India and southeast Asia. The family has only four species in a single genus, Aegithina. They are one of only three bird families that are entirely endemic to the Indomalayan ecozone. They were formerly grouped with the other two of those families, the Leafbirds and Fairy-Bluebirds, in the family Irenidae. Their Order is the Passeriformes

The Ioras are small to medium small sized passerines, ranging from 11.5–15.5 cm (4.5–6.1 in) in length. Overall the males are larger than the females. These are reminiscent of the bulbuls, but whereas that group tends to be drab in colouration, the ioras are more brightly coloured. The group exhibits sexual dimorphism in its plumage, with the males being brightly plumaged in yellows and greens. Unlike the leafbirds, ioras have thin legs, and their bills are proportionately longer. Calls are strident whistles; songs are musical to human ears.

Ioras eat insects and spiders, which they find by nimbly gleaning the leaves of the slenderest outer twigs.

In the two species whose male courtship displays are known, they are elaborate, culminating in the males’ parachute-style descent looking like “green balls of fluff”. The nests are compact open cups felted to branches with spiderweb. Females lay 2 or 3 eggs, which have pinkish speckles and red and purple lines. They incubate at night; the males, by day. Incubation lasts about 14 days. Both parents are responsible for brooding and feeding the chicks.

The four family members are:

Aegithina
Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) by Clement Francis

Marshall’s Iora (Aegithina nigrolutea) by Nikhil

Green Iora (Aegithina viridissima) ©WikiC

Great Iora (Aegithina lafresnayei) Flickr

(Some information Wikipedia)

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