Sultan tit
| Sultan tit | ||||||||||||
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Sultan tit ( Melanochlora sultanea ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Melanochlora | ||||||||||||
| Lesson , 1839 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Melanochlora sultanea | ||||||||||||
| ( Hodgson , 1837) |
The sultan's tit ( Melanochlora sultanea ) is the largest species of bird in the family of titmouse (Paridae) and the only species in the genus Melanochlora . It is widespread in Southeast Asia and parts of South and East Asia, where it inhabits forest edges and open forests of the plains and the hill country.
The exact relationship of the Sultan's tit to the other tit genera was unclear for a long time. According to recent genetic findings, it is in a basal position within the family together with the flaming brow ( Cephalopyrus flammiceps ), which was previously assigned to the bag tit (Remizidae), and the tree tit ( Sylviparus modestus ). It is most closely related to the latter species.
description
The Sultan tit is 20 to 21 cm long, about the same size as a song thrush , but at 35 to 49 g it is significantly lighter. The species is noticeable for its yellow-black plumage, its long, mostly yellow feather bonnet and its long, slightly stepped tail. The hood can be raised when excited. The beak is black or bluish slate color. The iris is brown to reddish brown. Legs and feet are usually blue-gray, but can have a greenish tinge.
In adult males of the nominate form , the forehead, crown and bonnet are intensely yellow. The rest of the head, upper side including wing and control feathers, chin, throat and chest are black with a metallic blue-green sheen. Some individuals may have narrow white lace seams on the outer control feathers. The underside including the axillary feathers and the under wing-coverts are yellow like the skull.
Adult females are similar to males, but are duller colored to sooty brown with a greenish sheen. Birds in juvenile plumage resemble females, but do not have a metallic sheen. The hood is shorter and more rounded. Light yellow or whitish lace hems can be found on the large arm and sometimes hand covers. The underside is dull yellow. Young males can have a metallic blue tinge early on.
voice
The utterances of the Sultan tit are conspicuous and loud. In addition to singing, they consist of a relatively limited repertoire of calls. Probably the most characteristic ones are a short, rattling chi-dip or tri-trip (audio sample) as well as a stringed tria-tria-tria… or chier-chier-chier… (audio sample), which can reach different intensities depending on the degree of excitement. A short wit (audio sample) is also part of the repertoire. When excited, the sounds are also combined or alternated (audio sample). The "squeaking" sounds often sound like a parrot.
The song is a stanza of mostly five loud, clear whistling sounds (audio sample), which can be described as chiu or piu .
Distribution and existence
The distribution area of the Sultan Tit stretches over the southern foreland of the Himalayas from central Nepal to northeast India as well as over the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh and large parts of Myanmar . In China, the species occurs on Hainan , in western and southern Yunnan , in southwest Guangxi and in a disjointed area in Fujian . From Thailand , where the species is absent in the central plains, the area extends south across the Malay Peninsula . In Indochina , the species occurs in northern Laos and Vietnam as well as in northern and central Annam and southern Laos. Even if the type specimen comes from Sumatra , the occurrence there is puzzling. At least the observation of a troop from 1938 proves beyond any doubt that the species occurs there at least occasionally.
The Sultan tit is not endangered and is listed by the IUCN in the “least concern” category. In the west of the area, as in Darjeeling, it has become rare, which is due to ongoing habitat destruction. However, it is still quite common in the eastern Himalayan foothills. In China the species has always been rare and only quite common on Hainan. There is no current evidence from Bangladesh. However, it is likely that the occurrence will continue. The Sultan Tit is very rare in Myanmar and only abundant locally in the north. The occurrences are also scattered in Thailand and Vietnam. However, the species can often be local.
Geographic variation
Two subspecies differ only slightly from the nominate form . The northeast subspecies M. s. seorsa has lighter yellow areas and can show dark shaft lines in the plumage of the hood. In the southern subspecies M. s. flavocristata , the hood is shorter. In youth clothing, the hood has dark shaft lines and white tips are sometimes found on the umbrella feathers and arm feathers . The subspecies M. s. gayeti from eastern Vietnam, on the other hand, has a completely black top of the head - including the hood - and a slightly bluish metallic sheen on the black areas. Females are more brownish with an overall dull greenish sheen.
- M. s. sultanea ( Hodgson , 1837) - eastern Himalayas from central Nepal to northeast India, Myanmar, northern Thailand and southern China.
- M. s. flavocristata ( Lafresnaye , 1837) - central and southern Thailand, Malay Peninsula, and southeastern China, possibly Sumatra .
- M. s. seorsa Bangs , 1924 - Northern Indochina and Southeast China.
- M. s. gayeti Delacour & Jabouille , 1925 - northern and central Annam in Vietnam.
nutrition
The diet consists mainly of small invertebrates and their larvae. The main food is made up of grasshoppers , fishing rods and spiders . In addition, there are berries, other fruits and seeds.
The foraging for food mostly takes place in the crown area of trees, but also in middle and deep strata such as in higher undergrowth or in bamboo thickets. The species is quite agile and acrobatic, but looks much more sluggish than other tits. The flight over open areas is fast and arcuate. Sometimes food is also read from the ground or snatched from the air during fishing flights.
Sultan tits often appear in small groups of up to twelve specimens and occasionally socialize with other species such as Timalia . The species is mostly stationary or line bird .
habitat
The Sultan Tit colonizes the edge areas of deciduous and mixed deciduous forests or evergreen forests in the lowlands or hilly areas. Light forests with bamboo, secondary forests or transition areas to the cultural landscape are also populated. The altitude distribution varies depending on the geographical location. Sometimes it is below 1500 m, but in Bhutan, for example, it also extends up to 2000 m.
Reproduction
Little is known about reproduction. The breeding season is between March and July. Nests are apparently mostly in tree hollows or crevices up to 15 m high. They consist of grass, moss, plant fibers, leaves and animal hair. The clutch consists of five to seven eggs.
literature
- Andrew Gosler, Peter Clement : Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea) (2016), in: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, AD Christie, E. de Juana (eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive , Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016
- Simon Harrap, David Quinn: Chickadees, Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1995, ISBN 0-691-01083-8 .
Individual evidence
Unless otherwise stated, the information in the article comes from the two main sources listed under “Literature”.
- ↑ Ulf S. Johansson, Jan Ekman, Rauri CK Bowie, Peter Halvarsson, Jan I. Ohlson, Trevor D. Price, Per GP Ericson: A complete multilocus species phylogeny of the tits and chickadees (Aves: Paridae) , Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , July 2013, doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2013.06.019
- ↑ Frank Lambert: XC201759 · Sultan Tit · Melanochlora sultanea sultanea . xeno-canto.org. April 30, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ↑ Arnold Meijer: XC35556 · Sultan Tit · Melanochlora sultanea . xeno-canto.org. February 17, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ↑ Ross Gallardy: XC295046 · Sultan Tit · Melanochlora sultanea . xeno-canto.org. February 1, 2015. Accessed November 10, 2019.
- ↑ Mike Nelson: XC191892 · Sultan Tit · Melanochlora sultanea . xeno-canto.org. July 26, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ↑ Hans Matheve: XC157085 · Sultansmeise · Melanochlora sultanea gayeti . xeno-canto.org. March 15, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
Web links
- Melanochlora sultanea inthe IUCN 2015-3 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Sultan tit ( Melanochlora sultanea )
- Videos, photos and sound recordings on Melanochlora sultanea in the Internet Bird Collection
- Photos of Melanochochlora sultanea in the Oriental Bird Club image database , accessed July 4, 2016