Penduline tit

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Penduline tits

European Penduline Tit, Remiz pendulinus

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Remizidae (but see text) Olphe-Galliard, 1891

Genera

Remiz
Anthoscopus
Cephalopyrus
Auriparus
Pholidornis

The penduline tits are a family of small passerine birds, related to the true tits. All but the Verdin and Fire-capped Tit make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees, usually over water; inclusion of the Fire-capped Tit in this family is disputed by some authorities^{[citation needed]}. They are insectivores.

Sometimes, these birds are included as subfamily Remizinae in the titmice family Paridae. Which taxonomical lineup one prefers is very much indeed a matter of taste; that these familys are close relatives is well-established by now. If the penduline tits are included in the Paridae, the stenostirid "warblers" would have to be included as another subfamily, while if they are considered a separate family, the Sultan Tit and the Yellow-browed Tit would possibly need to be excluded from the Paridae (Gill et al. 2005; Jønsson & Fjeldsa 2006).

There are 13 species in 5 genera, following Harrap & Quinn (1996):

Genus Remiz

European Penduline Tit Remiz pendulinus
Black-headed Penduline Tit Remiz macronyx
White-crowned Penduline Tit Remiz coronatus
Chinese Penduline Tit Remiz consobrinus

Genus Anthoscopus

Sudan Penduline Tit Anthoscopus punctifrons
Yellow Penduline Tit Anthoscopus parvulus
Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit Anthoscopus musculus
Forest Penduline Tit Anthoscopus flavifrons
African Penduline Tit Anthoscopus caroli
Cape Penduline Tit Anthoscopus minutus

Genus Cephalopyrus

Fire-capped Tit Cephalopyrus flammiceps

Genus Auriparus

Verdin Auriparus flaviceps

Genus Pholidornis

Tit-hylia Pholidornis rushiae

[edit] References

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

Harrap, Simon & Quinn, David (1996): Tits, Nuthatches & Treecreepers. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-3964-4

Jønsson, Knud A. & Fjeldså, Jon (2006): Determining biogeographical patterns of dispersal and diversification in oscine passerine birds in Australia, Southeast Asia and Africa. J. Biogeogr. 33(7): 1155–1165. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01507.x (HTML abstract)