The long-billed forest warbler, also known as the long-billed tailorbird, is a songbird of the family Cisticolidae, formerly part of the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is found in Tanzania and Mozambique. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat destruction.
Region
Eastern Arc Mountains and Mount Namuli region
Typical Environment
This species inhabits subtropical to tropical moist montane and submontane forests, with a strong preference for dense understory, vine tangles, and bamboo or rattan thickets. It is most often found along shaded stream gullies, forest edges, and in regenerating secondary forest where low, tangled growth is abundant. The range is highly fragmented, with key populations in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania and on Mount Namuli in Mozambique. It remains close to the ground or in the lower shrub layer, typically within a few meters of the forest floor.
Altitude Range
600–1800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the long-billed tailorbird, this secretive cisticolid is confined to a few moist montane forest blocks in northeastern Tanzania and northern Mozambique. Its long, slightly decurved bill is adapted for probing moss, bark crevices, and dead-leaf clusters for small invertebrates. It keeps to dense undergrowth and vine tangles, making it difficult to see despite a distinctive high, thin song. Ongoing forest loss and degradation are the primary threats to its survival.
Temperament
skulking and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low through understory
Social Behavior
Usually encountered as pairs or small family groups maintaining tight territories in dense thickets. Nests are well concealed low in vegetation, and both adults participate in care of the young. Courtship and territoriality are expressed through persistent song and soft contact calls.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a thin, high-pitched series of sibilant notes and trills, often insect-like and ventriloquial in dense foliage. Calls include soft ticks and seep notes given while foraging in cover.
Plumage
Plain olive-brown to olive-tinged upperparts with paler, greyish-white underparts and buffy flanks; sleek, soft plumage adapted to dense foliage. Tail is relatively long and graduated, often flicked. The face shows a subtle pale eyebrow and slightly darker lores.
Diet
Feeds primarily on small insects and other arthropods, including beetles, caterpillars, and spiders. Forages by gleaning from leaves, probing moss and bark crevices, and inspecting dead-leaf clusters. It occasionally snaps at small prey flushed from low vegetation. Feeding is methodical, with short hops and frequent pauses to probe.
Preferred Environment
Dense understory of moist montane forest, especially vine tangles, bamboo stands, and shaded streamside thickets. Often forages within 0–3 meters of the ground where cover is thickest.
