- Remiz consobrinus
Identification
9–12 cm (3½-4¾ in); A typical Penduline Tit.
- Black mask with whitish border
- Grey crown, nape and side of neck
- Chestnut upper mantle with cinnamon tipped feathers
- Dull cinnamon-buff back and uppertail-coverts
- Dark grey upperwing with cinnamon or buff fringed feathers
- Light buff chin and throat
- Buff underparts washed cinnamon buff on flanks
Females are much duller with a dark brown or reddish-brown mask.
Juveniles are poorly known and rather nondescript.
Similar species
White-crowned Penduline Tit has a more extensive black mask with black extending to upper nape.
Distribution
Breeds in the Russian Far East and northeast China (Nei Mongol, Heilongijang, Jilin, Ningxia and possibly also Liaoning).
Winters in eastern and southern China (Yangtze valley, Yunnan, Hong Kong), South Korea and South Japan.
A poorly known species. An increase in the wintering grounds was recorded in the last decades.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Forms a superspecies with Eurasian Penduline Tit, Black-headed Penduline Tit and White-crowned Penduline Tit. All four sometimes considered one species and present species sometimes considered conspecific with White-crowned Penduline Tit.
Habitat
Reed beds and marshes fringed by bushes and trees (particularly poplar and willows).
Outside breeding season encountered in a variety of habitats.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds mainly on insects and their larvae and small spiders. Takes also seeds in winter.
Forages mainly in reedbeds. Outside breeding season in small flocks.
Breeding
Breeding season probably from late May to mid-June. The nest is an elongated globular pouch with a entrance tube at the side. It's suspended from rear tip of reeds or a bush. Lays 5 to 10 eggs.
Movements
A strongly migratory species arriving in breeding grounds in mid-April and leaving in September.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2008. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553453
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Chinese Penduline Tit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chinese_Penduline_Tit
