Parrotbills | Paradoxornithidae

Small, round-bodied birds with a very long graduated tail and the bill that names the family: short, deep, laterally compressed and strongly curved, a parrot's bill in miniature. With it they shell hard seeds and split open reed stems and bamboo to reach the insects inside. Powerful feet grip vertical stems, so they clamber upward through reed, tall grass, bamboo and scrub; the flight is short and fluttering, and most species stay in the same patch for life. Outside the breeding season they move about in twittering parties, and male and female look alike. The nest is a deep cup woven low between the stems.