Sombre Tit

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Sombre Tit
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Paridae Genus: Poecile Species: P. lugubris
Binomial name
Poecile lugubris Temminck, 1820
Synonyms
Parus lugubris

The Sombre Tit (Poecile lugubris) is a member of the tit family found in southeast Europe and southwest Asia.

Traditionally placed in Parus, mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data suggests that that genus should be split, als already adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union for example. This species is part of the chickadee group which would then make up the genus Poecile. In Poecile, this species forms part of a group of apparently rather basal species, the relationships of which are ill-definied. They also include the Varied and probably the White-fronted Tit (which were sometimes separated in Sittiparus), and possibly the White-browed and Caspian Tits.(Gill et al., 2005)

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Parus lugubris. 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