From Opus

Poecile songara

Photo by Askar Isabekov
Photo taken: Ile Alatau National Park, Kazakhstan.

[edit] Identification

13 cm. Dark brown cap, black bib, rich brown upperparts, white cheeks and cinnamon buff underparts. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are somewhat duller.

[edit] Distribution

Southeast Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and northern China.

[edit] Taxonomy

Four subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• P.s. songara - Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakstan
• P.s. weigoldica - Southwest China
• P.s. affinis - North-central China
• P.s. stotzneri - Northeast China

[edit] Habitat

Deciduous mountain forests.

[edit] Behaviour

It excavates a cup shaped nesting hole, often in a rotten stump or in a tree, which is lined with fur, hair and wood chips, and sometimes feathers. 5-6 white with small reddish spots or blotches eggs are laid.

The diet includes caterpillars, insects and seeds.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.

• List of references

[edit] External Links