Black-lored Tit

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iBlack-lored Tit
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Parus
Species: P. xanthogenys
Binomial name
Parus xanthogenys
Vigors, 1831

The Black-lored Tit, Parus xanthogenys, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The Yellow-cheeked Tit is probably its closest relative, and they might be related to the Yellow Tit. These three tits almost certainly form a distinct lineage as evidenced by morphology, and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis (Gill et al., 2005). The subgenus name Macholophus may apply for them; placement in Poecile (chickadees) was apparently proposed[citation needed] but is certainly in error.

This species is a resident breeder in the Himalayas and peninsular India. It is a common bird in open tropical forests, but does not occur in Sri Lanka. It is an active and agile feeder, taking insects and spiders from the canopy, and sometimes fruit.

It is an easy tit to recognise in most of India, large in size at 13cm, with a broad black line (broader in the male) down its otherwise yellow front. The large crest, neck, throat and head are black with yellow cheeks and supercilia. Upperparts are olive-green. It has two white or yellowish wingbars and white outer tail feathers.

Females and young birds are duller than males. The underpart colour becomes increasingly dull from north to south through this tit's range.

The Black-lored Tit is, like other tits, a vocal bird, and has a large variety of calls, of which the most familiar is a si-si. The song is a sometimes nuthatch like chi-chi-chi.

Woodpecker or barbet holes are used for a nest, and this species will also excavate its own hole or use man-made sites. The clutch is typically 3-5 white eggs, spotted red. The bird is a close sitter, hissing when disturbed.

[edit] References

  • BirdLife International (2004). Parus xanthogenys. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  • Gill, Frank B.; Slikas, Beth & Sheldon, Frederick H. (2005): Phylogeny of titmice (Paridae): II. Species relationships based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene. Auk 122: 121-143. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0121:POTPIS]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract
  • Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol, Inskipp, Tim & Byers, Clive (1999): Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN 0-691-04910-6
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