The
Black-lored Tit,
Parus xanthogenys, is a
passerineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
in the
titThe tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa...
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
Paridae. The
Yellow-cheeked TitThe Yellow-cheeked Tit is a species of bird in the Paridae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Burma, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam....
is probably its closest relative, and they might be related to the
Yellow TitThe Yellow Tit is a species of bird in the Paridae family.It is endemic to Taiwan.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.-Source:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
. These three tits almost certainly form a distinct lineage as evidenced by
morphologyIn biology morphology is the form, structure and configuration of an organism.This includes aspects of the outward appearance as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs...
, and mtDNA
cytochrome bCytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...
sequenceA DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA molecule or strand, with the capacity to carry information as described by the central dogma of molecular biology....
analysis (Gill
et al., 2005). The
subgenusIn biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. See rank and rank .In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic and specific name: e.g...
name
Macholophus may apply for them; placement in
Poecile (chickadees) was apparently proposed but is certainly in error.
This
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
is a resident breeder in the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
.
The
Black-lored Tit,
Parus xanthogenys, is a
passerineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
in the
titThe tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa...
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
Paridae. The
Yellow-cheeked TitThe Yellow-cheeked Tit is a species of bird in the Paridae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Burma, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam....
is probably its closest relative, and they might be related to the
Yellow TitThe Yellow Tit is a species of bird in the Paridae family.It is endemic to Taiwan.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.-Source:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
. These three tits almost certainly form a distinct lineage as evidenced by
morphologyIn biology morphology is the form, structure and configuration of an organism.This includes aspects of the outward appearance as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs...
, and mtDNA
cytochrome bCytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...
sequenceA DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA molecule or strand, with the capacity to carry information as described by the central dogma of molecular biology....
analysis (Gill
et al., 2005). The
subgenusIn biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. See rank and rank .In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic and specific name: e.g...
name
Macholophus may apply for them; placement in
Poecile (chickadees) was apparently proposed but is certainly in error.
This
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
is a resident breeder in the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. The race in peninsular
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
has been split as
Parus aplonotus by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005). It is a common bird in open tropical forests, but does not occur in
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
. 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
nuthatchThe nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...
like
chi-chi-chi.
WoodpeckerWoodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
or
barbetAmerican barbets, family Capitonidae, are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans....
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.
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