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The common Iora is a bird about the size of a sparrow. At a distance the Iora looks yellowish. Close up, however, it can be seen that the male has the upper parts, including the wings and tail colored black. It has double white bars across the wings. The underparts of the wings are yellow. Over the winter period, this long breeding plumage is lost and the upper parts are replaced by green. The female is yellowish green above and below. The wing quills are brown with brilliantly yellow edges. The wings of the female also feature white bars. The Iora also has a slaty blue and black bill and slaty blue feet. The total length of the bird is between five and five and a half inches with a wing span of about two and a half inches. The Common Iora is quite reminiscent of a brightly colored North American Warbler.
The Common Iora can be found in Borneo, Sumatra, India and South East Asia. Male birds in Borneo and Sumatra differ from their Indian cousins in that they do not turn black on the back and head during the breeding season. The birds from South East Asia are a mixture between the two, sometimes, though not always, developing the back mantle and head.
The Common Iora can be spotted in gardens and woodlands of Singapore and other South East Asian countries. Because it tends to stay up in high trees, however, rather than the edges of bushes, hedges and paths, it may escape a cursory observation. The bird makes it’s nest in the town gardens. They often travel around in pairs or in small groups. The Common Iora has a distinctive call, which is commonly heard around Asia. The bird is capable of producing a variety of notes. The most distinctive sound to come from the Common Iora is a long ‘we-e-e-e-tu’, in which the last note drops suddenly. It is interesting to note that this sound is ever only uttered when it is raining. Once it is identified, the listener will realise just how common this bird is.
The Common Iora will perform amazing acrobatic feats. It can often be seen darting up into the air and then with all of it’s feathers, especially those of the rump, puffed out, it come spinning down in a spiral to the perch it has just vacated. Positioning itself back on the perch, it will spread it’s tail like a peacock, flirting in an extravagant display. Throughout this whole performance the bird will be uttering a drawn out high pitched whistle or, alternatively, a constant chirrup.
The Common Iora makes a small, deep cup like nest which it situates on the fork or the bough of a small tree. The bird will feast on berries, fruit and small insects as well as nectar. The bird does, in fact, play it’s part in a food web, consuming the spiders, mantises and dragonflies who, in turn, feed upon the local caterpillars and grasshoppers. The Common Iora tends to forage alone in the sub canopy.
The ornithological name for the Common Iora is the Aegethina Tiphia and it comes into the grouping known as fairy bluebirds. Some experts, however, prefer to place the fairy bluebirds with the Old World Orioles and to place the leaf birds and the ioras in the family Chloropseidae. Still others place all of these birds in the Bulbul family. Traditionally, the Common Iora has been considered to be related to the Babblers. They do, however, also exhibit some of the characteristics of the Drongos. Obviously, there is some debate, then, as to just where these colourful little creatures fit into the bird family tree.
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