Periparus

Not to be confused with Peripatus.

Periparus
Coal tit, Periparus ater
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Paridae
Genus:	Periparus de Sélys-Longchamps, 1884
Type species
Parus ater [1] Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text
Range of Periparus
Synonyms
Pardaliparus de Sélys-Longchamps, 1884

Periparus is a genus of birds in the tit family Paridae. The birds in the genus were formerly included in Parus but were moved to Periparus when Parus was split into several resurrected genera following the publication of a detailed molecular phylogenetic analysis in 2005. ^{[2] [3]}

Taxonomy

The name Periparus had been introduced for a subgenus of Parus that included the coal tit by the Belgium naturalist Edmond de Sélys Longchamps in 1884. ^[4] The genus name, is Ancient Greek peri plus the pre-existing genus Parus. ^[5]

The genus contains the following six species: ^[6]

Image	Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Yellow-bellied tit	Periparus venustulus	mixed woodland of eastern, central, and southern China
	Palawan tit	Periparus amabilis	southwestern Philippines (Balabac Island, Calauit, and Palawan)
	Elegant tit	Periparus elegans	Philippines (except Palawan group)
	Coal tit	Periparus ater	widespread across the Palearctic
	Rufous-naped tit	Periparus rufonuchalis	west, northwest Himalayas
	Rufous-vented tit	Periparus rubidiventris	Himalayas to Myanmar

All occur in Asia; the coal tit also has a wide range in Europe and North Africa. These birds have white cheeks and most have a tufted head.

References

1. "Paridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
2. Gill, F.B.; Slikas, B.; Sheldon, F.H. (2005). "Phylogeny of titmice (Paridae): II. Species relationships based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene". Auk. 122: 121–143. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0121:POTPIS]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   86067032.
3. Johansson, U.S.; Ekman, J.; Bowie, R.C.K.; Halvarsson, P.; Ohlson, J.I.; Price, T.D.; Ericson, P.G.P. (2013). "A complete multilocus species phylogeny of the tits and chickadees (Aves: Paridae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 69 (3): 852–860. Bibcode:2013MolPE..69..852J. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.019. PMID   23831453.
4. Selys Longchamps, E. (1884). "Considérations sur le genre mésange (Parus)". Bulletin de la Société zoologique de France (in French). 9: 32–78 [43, 59].
5. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  298. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
6. AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi: 10.2173/avilist.v2025 . Retrieved 17 November 2025.

• Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN   978-84-96553-42-2