Bushtit (1 Viewer)

[AGDK]

Happy New year to all

Just a question out of curiosity.. I saw today this Bushtit in Poland.. Normally I see both the "normal" version and the Europaeus version around here, but very distinct difference, with either complete white head or with clear back line all the way over the eyes..

Attached one here is a hybrid between these 2 types or just an Europaeus from this year, which haven't yet developed the plumage?

 

[Nutcracker]

Looks like a hybrid / intergrade, yes

 

[aeshna5]

Bushtit is a North American species. These are Long-tailed Tits.

Happy New Year.

 

[AGDK]

Thanks for the clarification..

 

[Nutcracker]

Bushtit is a North American species. These are Long-tailed Tits.

Happy New Year.

He's actually right - Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudaus) is a species of Bushtit (Aegithalos; Aegithalidae) - there was even a proposal to rename it 'Long-tailed Bushtit' for a time, though it never became established. See IOC for comment.

 

[AGDK]

I see that the page that I'm using here in Poland (Ornitho.pl) is using American bird species names on some birds.. This Long tailed tit is called Bushtit here.. The Slavonian Grebe is also called Horned Grebe, which is also an American version of the bird as far as I have learn...

But I see you guys are right, when I checked my bird guide.. Long-tailed Tits is also the name here..

Thanks

 

[Andy Adcock]

This is an interesting statement considering the time find ourselves in and debates that have ensued.

'Change English name of Aegithalos caudatus back to Long-tailed Tit even though it is not a parid, in deference to deep tradition and IOC policy of giving priority to well-established names.'

 

[Andy Adcock]

Looks like a hybrid / intergrade, yes

Rather than an integrade, why isn't it simply a bird with retained, juvenile characteristics?

 

[Nutcracker]

Rather than an integrade, why isn't it simply a bird with retained, juvenile characteristics?

At least partly, Occam's Razor; a bird with retained juv. plumage now woud be very long overdue post-juvenile moult (at least 4-5 months), whereas the caudatus / europaeus intergrade zone is broad, and includes much of Poland. But also a juv's mask is a different shape to an adult's supercilium, and this matches the latter, not the former.

 

[RafaelMatias]

As Nutcracker says, Long-tailed Tits with retained juv. body feathering by early Winter would be extraordinary, if not unheard of.
Juv Long-tailed Tits undergo a full post-juv moult and become indistinguishable from adults in Autumn. If those head feathers were juv. retained feathers, those would be now very worn, which they don't seem to be.