The Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) is a small passerinebird. This iora breeds across tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia. This common species is found in forest and other well-wooded areas. Two to four greenish white eggs are laid in a small, loose, cup-shaped nest made out of grass and built in a tree.
During the breeding season, the male performs an acrobatic courtship display, darting up into the air fluffing up all his feathers, especially those on the pale green rump, then spiralling down to the original perch. Once he lands, he spreads his tail and droops his wings.
The adult Common Iora is about 25cm long. The breeding male has black or greenish upperparts, and bright yellow underparts. The flight feathers are blackish with an obvious white wing bar. Non-breeding males have uniformly greenish upperparts. The females are similar to non-breeding males, but with grey-black wings.
There is a good deal of racial variation in the breeding males. A. t. multicolor of Sri Lanka and southern India has a black crown and back, A. t. typhia of the Himalayas has the upperparts entirely green, and A. t. humei of peninsular India has a black crown with its back a mixture of black and green.
The call is a mixture of churrs, chattering and whistles, and the song is a trilled wheeeee-tee. The Common Iora eats insects and spiders.
Reference
Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6
The Eora (sometimes spelt Iora or Iyora) people were the aboriginal occupants of the Sydney region in 1788 when the first European colonists arrived.
As is common in major metropolitan areas of most Australian states, these municipalities all have elected councils and are responsible for a range of functions delegated to them by the New South Wales state government.
For example, the electoral boundary of the City of Sydney local council area (mayoralty) have been significantly altered by state governments on at least four occasions since 1945, with advantageous effect to the governing party in the New South Wales Parliament at the time.
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