Includes Sichuan Tit
- Poecile songarus
Identification
13 cm
- Dark brown cap
- Black bib
- Rich brown upperparts
- White cheeks
- Cinnamon buff underparts
Sexes similar; juveniles are duller
Distribution
Asia: found in Turkestan, Kazakhstan, China, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Four subspecies are recognized:[1]
- P.s. songarus:
- Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakstan
- P.s. weigoldicus:
- P.s. affinis:
- North-central China (Ningxia to southern Gansu and north-eastern Qinghai)
- P.s. stotzneri:
IOC recognize P.(s.) weigoldicus as a full species "Sichuan Tit", but places the rest of these taxa into Willow Tit.
The scientific name has in the past been given as either Parus songarus or Poecile songarus.
Habitat
Deciduous mountain forests.
Behaviour
Breeding
It excavates a cup shaped nesting hole, usually in a rotten stump or in a tree. It is lined with fur, hair and wood chips, and maybe feathers. The clutch consists of 5-6 white eggs with small reddish spots or blotches.
Diet
The diet includes caterpillars, insects and seeds.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Songar Tit.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by china guy, Sichuan, China May 2011
References
- Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Songar Tit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 June 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Songar_Tit
