Sultan tit

Last updated

Sultan tit
Sultan Tit Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.jpg
From Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, India.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Melanochlora
Lesson, 1839
Species:
M. sultanea
Binomial name
Melanochlora sultanea
(Hodgson, 1837) [2] [3] [4]
Melanochlora sultanea distribution map.png
sultan tit distribution

The sultan tit (Melanochlora sultanea) is an Asian forest bird with a yellow crest, dark bill, black upperparts plumage and yellow underparts. The sexes are similar. The female has greenish-black upperparts and a yellowish throat. The young bird is duller than the adult and has a shorter crest. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Melanochlora, which is fairly distinct from the Parus tits with the nearest relative being the monotypic Sylviparus . [5]

Contents

Description

The male has the forehead and crown with the crest brilliant yellow; the whole upper plumage, sides of the head and neck, chin, throat, and breast-deep black glossed with green, the edges of the feathers of the upper plumage with a metallic lustre, and the outermost tail-feathers tipped with white; lower plumage from the breast downwards deep yellow, the thighs barred or mottled with white. [6] The recumbent crest is raised when the bird is alert or alarmed. [7]

M. s. sultanea from Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. Sultan Tit Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary West Bengal India 05.12.2015.jpg
M. s. sultanea from Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

The female has the yellow parts duller; the upper plumage and sides of the head dark greenish-brown; the chin and throat glossed dark olive-green; wings and tail dull black; the feathers of the upper plumage edged with metallic green. [6]

The young resemble the female, but in the youngest stage the bright edges to the plumage of the upper parts are absent, and the greater wing coverts are edged with white. [6]

They forage in the mid and upper canopy singly or in small groups mainly and feed mainly on insects but sometimes feed on figs. [8] Their loud calls with short repeated and variable whistling notes have a tit-like quality. [6] The flight is slow and fluttery. [7]

The bill is black; the mouth dark fleshy; the eyelids grey; the iris dark brown; the legs are grey; the claws dark horn. The length is about 8 inches; the tail measures 3.8 inches; the wing 4.4 inches; the tarsus 0.95 inches; the bill from the gape 0.75 inches. [9] The body mass is from 35 to 49 g (1.2 to 1.7 oz). [10]

Taxonomy and systematics

 
Phylogeny of the Paridae with the position of Melanochlora [11]

In 1890, Richard Bowdler Sharpe considered this species as a member of the former subfamily Liotrichinae within the Timaliidae. [12] The position of this species within its clade is still not clearly established. They appear to have distinctive mtDNA cytochrome b sequences, suggesting that they might not belong to the Paridae unless the penduline tits are included. [5] [13] They show an unusual behaviour of panicking in captivity when they encounter unusual noise or other species which has been said to be unlike that of typical Paridae members. [14] [15] Unlike other Paridae, their nostrils are exposed and not covered by feathers. [16]

Distribution

The race gayeti has a black crest MelanochloraSultaneaGayeti.svg
The race gayeti has a black crest

Four subspecies are recognized with the nominate sultanea (Hodgson, 1837) found from Central Nepal into the eastern Himalayas extending into North-eastern Bangladesh, [17] Myanmar, northern Thailand and Southern China. This intergrades with the race flavocristata (Lafresnaye, 1837) is found further south in Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Hainan. Race seorsa [18] (with dark shaft streaks in the crest) is found in Laos and parts of southeastern China (Guangxi, Fujian) and in its northern range intergrades with sultanea. Subspecies gayeti named after the collector M.V. Gayet-Laroche by Delacour & Jabouille in 1925 [19] has a black crest in both males and females and is found in Laos and Vietnam. [20]

In India, this species occurs in the lower ranges of the Himalayas from Nepal to the head of the Assam valley, the Khasi Hills, Cachar, Manipur, the Kakhyen hills east of Bhamo, Arrakan, the Pegu hills, Karennee, and Tenasserim. This species does not appear to be found above 4000 feet of elevation. It extends down the Malay peninsula. It frequents the larger trees in small flocks. [9] In some forest areas such as the Buxa Tiger Reserve, the density has been estimated at around 15 per square kilometre. [21]

Sultan tits are vocal with several calls including a rattling "chi-dip, tri-trip", harsh explosive hissing calls and squeaky repeated "wheet" whistles. [22]

The breeding season in India is April to July and the clutch is of five to seven eggs laid inside a lined tree cavity. [16] [23] They feed on caterpillars and sometimes small berries. [7] [24]

Widely distributed within suitable habitats throughout its large range, the Sultan Tit is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penduline tit</span> Family of birds

The penduline tits constitute the family Remizidae, of small passerine birds related to the true tits. All but the verdin make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees, usually over water.

TIT, Tit, Tits, or tit may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tit (bird)</span> Family of small passerine birds

The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Most were formerly classified in the genus Parus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow tit</span> Species of passerine bird in the tit family Paridae

The willow tit is a passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and off-white with a black cap and bib. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related marsh tit, which explains it breeding much further north. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver pheasant</span> Species of bird

The silver pheasant is a species of pheasant found in forests, mainly in mountains, of mainland Southeast Asia and eastern and southern China. It is introduced on Victoria Island in Nahuel Huapi Lake, Neuquén, Argentina and on Vancouver Island, Canada. The male is black and white, while the female is mainly brown. Both sexes have a bare red face and red legs. It is common in aviculture, and overall also remains common in the wild, but some of its subspecies are rare and threatened.

The imperial pheasant is a gallopheasant from Southeast Asia. Long thought to be an enigmatic and elusive species, it is actually a cross of Edwards's pheasant and the silver pheasant, a hybrid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passerida</span> Clade of birds

Passerida is, under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two parvorders contained within the suborder Passeri. While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorder, Corvida, is not a monophyletic grouping, the Passerida as a distinct clade are widely accepted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian house martin</span> Species of bird

The Asian house martin is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has mainly blue-black upperparts, other than its white rump, and has pale grey underparts. Its three subspecies breed in the Himalayas and in central and eastern Asia, and spend the winter lower in the mountains or in Southeast Asia. This species is locally abundant and is expanding northward in Siberia, so there are no concerns about its conservation status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tufted tit-tyrant</span> Species of bird

The tufted tit-tyrant is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. This species is found in western South America; its range stretches from southern Colombia south along the Andes mountains to Tierra del Fuego. It prefers to live in upper montane forests and shrublands; however, it is a habitat generalist and can be found across a wide range of ecosystems. The tufted tit-tyrant has three subspecies, including the nominate subspecies Anairetes parulus parulus, A. p. aequatorialis, and A. p. patagonicus, and is very closely related to the Juan Fernández tit-tyrant. It is very small with a distinctive and conspicuous crest. The bird's head is black overall with white supraloral and postocular stripes. Its dull grayish-brown back contrasts with its white throat and breast that are covered with black streaks and pale, unmarked yellow underbelly. There are few noticeable differences in plumage between the subspecies. It is a vocal flycatcher with a broad repertoire of songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire-capped tit</span> Species of bird

The fire-capped tit is a small, 10 cm (3.9 in) long, weighing about 7 g (0.25 oz) bird species assigned to the family Paridae, that breeds in the temperate forest bordering the Himalayas to the south, in the Hengduan Shan and Nujiang Shan on the Myanmar-China border, the Micah Shan and Daba Shan on the Northern Sichuan border. It winters down hill and further south. Further to the east, birds tend to be smaller and the plumage becomes gradually darker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-vented nuthatch</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-vented nuthatch is a species of bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring 12.5–14 cm (4.9–5.5 in) in length. The upperparts are a solid gray blue, with a markedly black loral stripe. The underparts are uniform gray to buff from the throat to belly, with brick red on the flanks. The undertail is white with a rufous border. The chestnut-vented nuthatch utters different kinds of calls, which can sometimes sound like a troglodyte alarm, and its song is a monotonous, stereotypical crackle, typically chichichichi. Its ecology is poorly known, but it probably feeds on small arthropods and seeds, and the breeding season begins between March and May. The nest is typically located in a hole in the trunk of a tree, and the clutch has two to five eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinereous tit</span> Species of bird

The cinereous tit is a species of bird in the tit family Paridae. This species is made up of several populations that were earlier treated as subspecies of the great tit. These birds are grey backed with white undersides. The great tit in the new sense is distinguishable by the greenish-back and yellowish underside. The distribution of this species extends from parts of West Asia across South Asia and into Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian black-lored tit</span> Species of bird

The Indian black-lored tit, Indian tit, or Indian yellow tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The yellow-cheeked tit is probably its closest relative, and both may be related to the yellow tit. These three tits almost certainly form a distinct lineage as evidenced by morphology, and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis. The subgenus name Macholophus may apply for them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sichuan tit</span> Species of bird

The Sichuan tit is a species of bird in the tit family Paridae. It is endemic to central China.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Melanochlora sultanea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22712001A94314686. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22712001A94314686.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Hodgson, B.H. (1837). "Indication of some new forms belonging to the Parianae. (part 1)". India Rev. 2 (1): 30–34.
  3. ↑ Dickinson, E.C. (2003). "Systematic notes on Asian birds. 38. The McClelland drawings and a reappraisal of the 1835–36 survey of the birds of Assam" (PDF). Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden . 344: 63–106.
  4. ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; Loskot, V.M.; Morioka, H.; Somadikarta, S. & van den Elzen, R. (2006). "Systematic notes on Asian birds. 50. Types of the Aegithalidae, Remizidae and Paridae". Zoologische Mededelingen . 80–5: 65–111.
  5. 1 2 Gill, Frank B.; Slikas, Beth & Sheldon, Frederick 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.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rasmussen, PC & JC Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Vol. 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. pp. 530–534.
  7. 1 2 3 Ali, S & S D Ripley (1998). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. 9 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 166–167.
  8. ↑ Lambert, Frank (1989). "Fig-Eating by Birds in a Malaysian Lowland Rain Forest". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 5 (4): 401–412. doi:10.1017/s0266467400003850.
  9. 1 2 Oates, E. W. (1889). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. p. 242.
  10. ↑ Gosler, A. and P. Clement (2020). Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sultit1.01
  11. ↑ Johansson, Ulf S; Ekman, Jan; Bowie, Rauri C.K; Halvarsson, Peter; Ohlson, Jan I; Price, Trevor D; Ericson, Per G.P (2013). "A complete multilocus species phylogeny of the tits and chickadees (Aves: Paridae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 69 (3): 852–60. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.019. PMID   23831453.
  12. ↑ Sharpe,RB (1890). "Notes on Oates's Birds of India". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 5 (2): 167–175.
  13. ↑ Jønsson, Knud A. & Fjeldså, Jon (2006). "Determining biogeographical patterns of dispersal and diversification in oscine passerine birds in Australia, Southeast Asia and Africa". J. Biogeogr. 33 (7): 1155–1165. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01507.x.
  14. ↑ Löhrl, H. (1997). "Zum Verhalten der Sultansmeise in Menschenhand Melanochlora sultanea". Gefiederte Welt (in German). 121 (5): 162–166.
  15. ↑ Eck, S & J Martens (2006). "Systematic notes on Asian birds. 49. A preliminary review of the Aegithalidae, Remizidae and Paridae". Zoologische Mededelingen . 80 (5): 3.
  16. 1 2 Baker, E C S (1922). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 101–102.
  17. ↑ "Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea) - BirdLife species factsheet".
  18. ↑ Bangs, O.C. (1924). "A new form of Melanochlora sultanea from Fukien". Proc. New Eng. Zool. Cl. 9: 23.
  19. ↑ Delacour, J. & P. Jabouille (1925). "[A new Sultan Tit from French Indochina]". Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 46: 5–6.
  20. ↑ Paynter, RA Jr., ed. (1967). Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 12. Museum of Comparative zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp. 122–123.
  21. ↑ Sivakumar S; J Varghese & V Prakash (2006). "Abundance of birds in different habitats in Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India" (PDF). Forktail. 22: 128–133. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2012.
  22. ↑ Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Christie D., eds. (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. p. 750. ISBN   978-84-96553-42-2.
  23. ↑ Baker, ECS (1895). "XVIII. Notes on the nidification of some Indian birds not mentioned in Hume's 'Nests and Eggs' Part 2". Ibis. 1 (Seventh series) (2): 217–236. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1895.tb06523.x.
  24. ↑ Mason, CW (1912). "The food of birds in India". Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India. 3: 61.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.