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Sultan tit

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Sultan tit
Nominate M. s. sultanea near Darjeeling, India.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Melanochlora
Lesson, 1839
Species:
M. sultanea
Binomial name
Melanochlora sultanea
sultan tit distribution

The sultan tit (Melanochlora sultanea) is an Asian forest bird with black upperparts plumage and yellow underparts, dark bill, and (depending on subspecies) a yellow or black crest. The sexes are similar, though the female has slightly duller plumage with greenish-black upperparts and 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 other tits, third-basal in the family Paridae after Cephalopyrus and Sylviparus.[5]

Description

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The male has the forehead and crown with the crest brilliant yellow (except glossy black in one subspecies); 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]

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 fluttering.[7]

The bill is black; the mouth dark; the eyelids grey; the iris dark brown; the legs are grey; the claws dark horn. It is the largest species of tit, 20–20.5 cm (7.9–8.1 in) long; the tail is 8.2–9.9 cm (3.2–3.9 in) long; the wing 9.4–11.5 cm (3.7–4.5 in); the tarsus 2.1–2.6 cm (0.83–1.02 in); the bill from the gape 1.5–1.8 cm (0.59–0.71 in).[9] The weight is from 34 to 49 g (1.2 to 1.7 oz).[9][10]

Taxonomy and distribution

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There are four subspecies:[9][11][12]

Image Scientific name Distribution Notes

Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Darjeeling, India		 M. s. sultanea (Hodgson, 1837) In the lower foothills of the Himalaya from central Nepal east to northeastern India and northeastern Bangladesh, Myanmar, northern Thailand and southwestern China (southern Yunnan); at submontane altitudes up to 1,500 m, rarely 1,900 m. Crest and underparts vivid yellow.

Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi, Thailand		 M. s. flavocristata (Lafresnaye, 1837) Hainan, northern Vietnam, northern Laos, central and southern Thailand and the Malay Peninsula; intergrades with M. s. sultanea in the northwest of its range; generally below 1,200 m but rarely up to 2,000 m. Similar to nominate M. s. sultanea but crest slightly shorter.
M. s. seorsa Bangs, 1924 Southeastern China in Zhejiang and Fujian. Similar to nominate M. s. sultanea but yellow plumage slightly paler; some individuals have fime black streaks in the yellow crest.[13] Birds in southern China (Guangxi) and northern Vietnam show plumage intermediate between M. s. seorsa and M. s. sultanea.

Kon Tum, Vietnam		 M. s. gayeti Delacour & Jabouille, 1925 (named after the collector M.V. Gayet-Laroche[14]) Central and southern Vietnam, from Da Nang south to Da Lat, and adjacent southeasternmost Laos; 200–1900 m altitude, commonest around 1,400 m. Slightly smaller than the other subspecies; crest glossy black with no yellow.
Phylogeny of the Paridae with the position of Melanochlora[5]

In 1890, Richard Bowdler Sharpe considered this species as a member of the former subfamily Liotrichinae within the Timaliidae.[15] A 2005 study found that they appear to have distinctive mtDNA cytochrome b sequences, suggesting that they might not belong to the Paridae unless the penduline tits are included;[16][17] but more recent, more detailed studies have clarified its placement in a near-basal position in the family Paridae and separate from the penduline tits.[5][18]

Ecology

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It frequents larger trees in small, often mixed-species flocks.[9] In some forest areas such as the Buxa Tiger Reserve, the density has been estimated at around 15 per square kilometre.[19]

Sultan tits are vocal with several calls including a rattling "chi-dip, tri-trip", harsh explosive hissing calls and squeaky repeated "wheet" whistles.[20]

The breeding season in India is April to July and the clutch is of five to seven eggs laid inside a lined tree cavity.[21][22] They feed on caterpillars and sometimes small berries.[7][23] 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.[24][25] Unlike other Paridae, their nostrils are exposed and not covered by feathers.[21]

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.

References

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  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. ^ a b c 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): 852–860. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.019. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d Rasmussen, P. C. & Anderton, J. C. (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Vol. 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. pp. 530–534.
  7. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d Harrap, Simon (1996). Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers. Illustrated by David Quinn. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-3964-4.
  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. ^ "Waxwings and allies, tits, penduline tits – IOC World Bird List". IOC World Bird List – Version 14.2. 20 February 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea) - BirdLife species factsheet".
  13. ^ Bangs, O.C. (1924). "A new form of Melanochlora sultanea from Fukien". Proc. New Eng. Zool. Cl. 9: 23.
  14. ^ Delacour, J. & P. Jabouille (1925). "[A new Sultan Tit from French Indochina]". Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 46: 5–6.
  15. ^ Sharpe,RB (1890). "Notes on Oates's Birds of India". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 5 (2): 167–175.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Johansson, Ulf S.; Nylinder, Stephan; Ohlson, Jan I.; Tietze, Dieter Thomas (2018). "Reconstruction of the late Miocene biogeographical history of tits and chickadees (Aves: Passeriformes: Paridae): A comparison between discrete area analyses and probabilistic diffusion approach". Journal of Biogeography. 45 (1): 14–25. doi:10.1111/jbi.13095. ISSN 0305-0270. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ a b 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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Mason, CW (1912). "The food of birds in India". Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India. 3: 61.
  24. ^ Löhrl, H. (1997). "Zum Verhalten der Sultansmeise in Menschenhand Melanochlora sultanea". Gefiederte Welt (in German). 121 (5): 162–166.
  25. ^ 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.
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