The golden-headed cisticola (Cisticola exilis), also known as the bright-capped cisticola, is a species of warbler in the family Cisticolidae, found in Australia and thirteen Asian countries. Growing to long, it is usually brown and cream in colour, but has a different appearance during the mating season, with a gold-coloured body and a much shorter tail. It is an omnivore and frequently makes a variety of vocalizations. Known as the "finest tailor of all birds", it constructs nests out of plants and spider threads. It mates in the rainy season. It has a very large range and population, which is thought to be increasing. Taxonomy The golden-headed cisticola was described by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827 and given the binomial name Malurus exilis. The specific epithet exilis is the Latin word for "small", "slender" or "thin". It is now placed in the genus Cisticola, which was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. This species has been known by several English names in addition to the golden-headed cisticola, including bright-capped cisticola, bright-headed cisticola, bright-crowned cisticola, gold-capped cisticola, yellow-headed cisticola, exile warbler and fan-tail warbler. It has been called a tailorbird, but it is not closely related to Orthotomus, a genus containing 13 species known as tailorbirds. Twelve subspecies are recognized: C. e. tytleri Jerdon, 1863 – south Nepal and northeast India to north Myanmar and southwest China C. e. erythrocephalus Blyth, 1851 – peninsular India C. e. equicaudatus Baker, E.C.S., 1924 – east Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina C. e. courtoisi La Touche, 1926 – south and east China C. e. volitans (R. Swinhoe, 1859) – Taiwan C. e. semirufus Cabanis, 1872 – Philippines and Sulu Archipelago C. e. rusticus Wallace, 1863 – Sulawesi and south Maluku Islands C. e. lineocapilla Gould, 1847 – Sumatra, southwest Borneo, Java, Lesser Sundas and northwest Australia C. e. diminutus Mathews, 1922 – New Guinea, islands in the Torres Strait and northeast Australia C. e. alexandrae Mathews, 1912 – inland north Australia C. e. exilis (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) – east and southeast Australia C. e. polionotus Mayr, 1934 – Bismarck Archipelago Description The golden-headed cisticola is a small species, growing to long and weighing , with males slightly heavier than females. Although its appearance is similar to the black-backed cisticola (Cisticola eximius), the golden-headed cisticola has a shorter tail during the breeding season. The zitting cisticola (Cisticola