Alternative name: White-throated Bushtit
- Aegithalos niveogularis
Identification
11.5cm. A typical long-tailed tit with a medium-long tail.
- White forecrown, throat and half-collar
- Dark eye
- Broad black supercilium
- Brown hindcrown and cheek
- Pinkish-brown body
Sexes similar. Juveniles with buff-tinged forecrown, duller eye-patch and dull pinkish throat.
Distribution
From northeast Pakistan and Kashmir east to northern India and west-central Nepal.
Locally common restricted-range species.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
It is sometimes considered conspecific with Rufous-fronted Tit, Black-browed Tit and Burmese Tit and all four form a superspecies.
Habitat
Birch and pine forests.
Occurs from 2000 to 3900m.
Behaviour
Feeds mainly on insects and their larvae. Takes possibly also flower buds.
Forages in shrub layer.
Usually seen in pairs in early summer otherwise in small parties of up to 20 birds. Joins also mixed-species flocks.
Breeding recorded in May and June. The nest in an oval ball of moss and cowebs with a side entrance near the top. It's placed in a fork of a tree or bush 1-3m above the ground. One reported clutch contained 4 eggs.
A resident species with some altitudinal movements.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- 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
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-throated Tit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-throated_Tit
