Difference between revisions of "Tomtit" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 13:42, 1 May 2023

Photo by Layzeboy
Lake Brunner Westcoast, South Island New Zealand, July 2006

Petroica macrocephala

Identification

North Island male
Photo by Raikyn
Boundary Stream reserve, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, December 2016

13 cm (5 in)

Large head
Short tail

Male

Black head neck and upperparts
White forehead spot
Black upper wing
White bar on remiges

Adult females have brown head and upperparts.

Sub species vary greatly in size and colour (see[1].

Distribution

New Zealand.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are five races^[1]: of this bird, each restricted to an island and its outlying islands:

P. m. toitoi: black head with white spot above bill, black upperparts and upper breast, white underparts, white wing bar and sides to tail

North Island and adjacent offshore islands (New Zealand)

P. m. macrocephala: and the next two all have a yellow breast

South Island and Stewart Island (New Zealand)

P. m. marrineri:

Auckland Islands

P. m. chathamensis:

Chatham Islands

P. m. dannefaerdi: is totally black

Snares Islands

Habitat

Native forests.

Behaviour

Highly territorial.

Diet

The diet consist of a variety of insects, also weta, worms and months. Fruit is added during autumn and winter.

Breeding

They nest in a hole in a tree or a sheltered cleft in a bank or rock. The female builds the nest from moss, thin strips of bark, bound together with cobwebs and feathers. The clutch consists of 3-4 white eggs, spotted with dark specks; they are incubated by the female. The young being fed by both adults. There are usually two or three broods each year.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)
New Zealand Birds

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Tomtit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tomtit

External Links

Search for photos of Tomtit in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-;Petroica macrocephala
+[[Image:Tomtit.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by {{user|Layzeboy|Layzeboy}}<br />Lake Brunner Westcoast, South Island [[New Zealand]], July 2006]]
+;[[:Category:Petroica|Petroica]] macrocephala
+==Identification==
+[[Image:Tomtit2-sml.jpg|thumb|350px|right|North Island male<br />Photo by {{user|Raikyn|Raikyn}}<br />Boundary Stream reserve, Hawkes Bay, [[New Zealand]], December 2016]]
+cm (5 in)<br />
+*Large head
+*Short tail<br />
+'''Male'''
+*Black head neck and upperparts
+*White forehead spot
+*Black upper wing
+*White bar on [[Topography#Wings|remiges]]
+Adult '''females''' have brown head and upperparts.
-[[Image:Tomtit.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Layzeboy<br />Photo taken: Lake Brunner - Westcoast, South Island NZ]]
+Sub species vary greatly in size and colour (see[[#Taxonomy|[1]]].
-==Identification==
-cm., 11 g., large head, short tail, sub species vary in size and colour, the Snares being totally black; North Island has black head with white spot above bill, black upperparts and upper breast, white underparts, white wing bar and sides to tail; South, Chatham and Auckland Islands similar but with yellow breast; adult females have brown head and upperparts
 ==Distribution==
+[[New Zealand]].
 ==Taxonomy==
-There are five races of this bird, each restricted to an island and its outlying islands; North Island tomtit, toitoi, South Island tomtit, macrocephala, Chatham Island tomtit, chathamensis, Snares Island tomtit, dannefaerdi, and Auckland Island tomtit, marrineri.
+====Subspecies====
+There are five races<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>: of this bird, each restricted to an island and its outlying islands:<br />
+*''P. m. toitoi'': black head with white spot above bill, black upperparts and upper breast, white underparts, white wing bar and sides to tail
+:*North Island and adjacent offshore islands (New Zealand)
+*''P. m. macrocephala'': and the next two all have a yellow breast
+:*South Island and Stewart Island (New Zealand)
+*''P. m. marrineri'':
+:*Auckland Islands
+*''P. m. chathamensis'':
+:*Chatham Islands
+*''P. m. dannefaerdi'': is totally black
+:*Snares Islands
 ==Habitat==
+Native forests.
 ==Behaviour==
-One pair of tomtits apparently stay about the same area all their lives and resent the presence of another of their kind within their fenceless domain, the male fiercely chasing the trespasser and causing it to hurriedly take the shortest cut home. The range of the tomtit's territory is quite extensive, maybe ten or more acres
+Highly territorial.
+====Diet====
+The diet consist of a variety of insects, also weta, worms and months. Fruit is added during autumn and winter.
+====Breeding====
+They nest in a hole in a tree or a sheltered cleft in a bank or rock.  The female builds the nest from moss, thin strips of bark, bound together with cobwebs and feathers. The clutch consists of 3-4 white eggs, spotted with dark specks; they are incubated by the female.  The young being fed by both adults. There are usually two or three broods each year.
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug16}}#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)
+#New Zealand Birds
+{{ref}}
 ==External Links==
-{{GSearch|Petroica+macrocephala}}
+{{GSearch|"Petroica macrocephala" {{!}} "Tomtit"}}
-*[http://www.aviceda.org/abid/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&fid=65&bid=1056 View more images of this species on the ABID]
+{{GS-checked}}1
-[[Category:Birds]]
+<br />
+<br />
+[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Petroica]]