Periparus
| Periparus | |
|---|---|
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| Coal tit, Periparus ater | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Paridae |
| Genus: | Periparus Sélys Longchamps, 1884 |
| Species | |
|
Periparus rufonuchalis | |
Periparus is a genus of birds in the tit family that, as defined here, consists of the following species:
- Rufous-naped tit, black-breasted tit or dark-grey tit, Periparus rufonuchalis
- Rufous-vented tit, Periparus rubidiventris
- Palawan tit, Periparus amabilis
- Yellow-bellied tit, Periparus venustulus
- Elegant tit, Periparus elegans
- Coal tit, Periparus ater
All occur in Asia; the coal tit also has a wide range in Europe and North Africa. These birds have white cheeks and most have a tufted head.
Most authorities consider Periparus a subgenus of the genus Parus, but the Handbook of the Birds of the World considers it distinct (del Hoyo et al. 2007), as does the American Ornithologists' Union. This is supported by mtDNA (cytochrome b) sequence analysis (Gill et al., 2005).
The yellow-bellied tit of China and the Palawan tit and elegant tit of the Philippines are sometimes placed in a separate genus, Pardaliparus.
To add to the uncertainty, the elegant tit is probably paraphyletic and the coal tit may be. The melanolophus race of the coal tit, called the black-crested tit or spot-winged tit, is sometimes considered a separate species.
References
- Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2
- Gill, Frank B.; Slikas, Beth; and 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
- Peterson, Alan P. (Editor). 1999. Zoological Nomenclature Resource (Zoonomen). Accessed 2007-07-29.