Thecinereous tit (Parus cinereus) is a species ofbird in thetitfamily Paridae. This species is made up of several populations that were earlier treated as subspecies of thegreat tit (Parus major). These birds are grey backed with white undersides. The great tit in the new sense is distinguishable by the greenish-back and yellowish underside.[2][3] The distribution of this species extends from parts of West Asia acrossSouth Asia and intoSoutheast Asia. The Japanese tit was formerly treated as a separate species but is now lumped together with the cinereous tit.
P. c. tibetanus Hartert, EJO, 1905 – southeast Tibet, southwest, central south China to north Myanmar
P. c. commixtusSwinhoe, 1868 – south China and north Vietnam
P. c. nubicolus Meyer de Schauensee, 1946 – east Myanmar, north Thailand and northwest Indochina
The final eight subspecies on the above list (beginning withP. c. minor) were formerly treated as a separate species, the Japanese tit (Parus minor). The Japanese tit was lumped with the cinereous tit based onmolecular phylogenetic studies that found it is more appropriate to consider theParus major complex as comprising two species, the cinereous tit and thegreat tit, rather than three.[6][7][8][9]
Like others in the genus, it has a broad black ventral line and has no crest. This tit is part of a confusing group of species but is distinct in having a grey-back, black hood, white cheek patch and a white wing-bar. The underparts are white with the black central stripe running along the length. The female has a narrower ventral line and is slightly duller.[10] The upper tail coverts are ashy while the tail is black with the central 4 pairs of feathers ashy on the outer webs and all but the central pair are tipped white. The fifth pair is white with a black rachis and a band of black on the inner web. The outermost pair of tail feathers are all white with a black shaft. The undertail coverts are black towards the centre but white on the sides.[11]
Several of the subspecies formerly placed withinParus major are now placed in this species (all of which have a grey rather than greenish back[2][11][12] as adults, although young birds show some green on the back and yellowish on the underside[13] ). These geographically separated populations show differences mainly in the shade of grey, the extent of white on the tail feathers and in size, although the variation in size is mainlyclinal.[14][15]
These birds are usually seen in pairs or small groups that sometimes joinmixed-species foraging flocks.[16] They forage mainly bygleaning, capturing insects (mainly caterpillars, bugs and beetles) that are disturbed and will also feeding on buds and fruits.[17] They sometimes use their feet to hold insects which are then torn with their beak. They may also wedge hard seeds in a bark crevice before hammering them with their beak (noted in ssp.caschmirensis).[18])
The calls are a whistlingtitiweesi...titiweesi... witsi-seesee or other variants repeated three of four times followed by a break. The calling is particularly persistent during the breeding season. In playback experiments, thechurring alarm calls of the EuropeanParus major and Asian species are responded to by each other but the songs of the European species do not elicit much response inP. c. mahrattarum.[19] About 4 to 6 eggs form the normal clutch (9 recorded incaschmirensis with one case of two nests side by side[20]). The breeding season is summer and but dates vary across their range. Some birds may raise more than one brood. In southern India and Sri Lanka the breeding season is February to May (mainly before the Monsoons) but nests have also been seen from September to November. The nests are placed in hollows in trees or in a wall or mud-bank with a narrow entrance hole and the floor of the cavity is lined with moss, hair and feathers. They sometimes make use of the old nest of a woodpecker or barbet.[21] Both parents take part in incubation and hissing from within the nest when threatened.[18] They may also roost in cavities such as those in cut bamboo.[22]
A species of fleaCeratophyllus gallinae has been recorded in their nests from India.[23][24]
^abPackert, Martin; Jochen Martens; Siegfried Eck; Alexander A Nazarenko; Olga P. Valchuk; Bernd Petri; Michael Veith (2005). "The great tit (Parus major) – a misclassified ring species".Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.86 (2):153–174.doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2005.00529.x.
^Päckert, Martin; Martens, Jochen (2008). "Taxonomic pitfalls in tits – comments on the Paridae chapter of the Handbook of the Birds of the World".Ibis.150 (4):829–831.doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2008.00871.x.
^Zhao, N.; Dai, C.; Wang, W.; Zhang, R.; Qu, Y.; Song, G.; Chen, K.; Yang, X.; Zou, F.; Lei, F. (2012). "Pleistocene climate changes shaped the divergence and demography of Asian populations of the great titParus major: Evidence from phylogeographic analysis and ecological niche models".Journal of Avian Biology.43:297–310.doi:10.2307/23259207.
^Song, G.; Zhang, R.; Machado-Stredel, F.; Alström, P.; Johansson, U.S.; Irestedt, M.; Mays Jr., H.L.; McKay, B.D.; Nishiumi, I.; Cheng, Y.; Qu, Y.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Fjeldså, J.; Peterson, A.T.; Lei, F. (2020). "Great journey of Great Tits (Parus major group): Origin, diversification and historical demographics of a broadly distributed bird lineage".Journal of Biogeography.47 (7):1585–1598.doi:10.1111/jbi.13863.
^Rasmussen, PC; JC Anderton (2005).Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. p. 527.
^abAli, S; S D Ripley (1998).Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. 9 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 168–175.ISBN0-19-562063-1.
^Sasvári, Lajos (1980). "Different responsiveness of Indian and European Great Tit (Parus major mahrattarum;P. m. major) to acoustic stimuli".Journal of Ornithology.121 (4):391–396.doi:10.1007/BF01643334.
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