Songar tit

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The Songar tit (Poecile montanus songarus, formerly Parus songarus) is a passerine bird in the tit family. It is the southern counterpart of the willow tit P. montanus, and is usually included in it as a subspecies.

Songar tit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Poecile
Species:
Subspecies:
P. m. songarus
Trinomial name
Poecile montanus songarus
(Severtzov, 1873)
Synonyms

Poecile songarus
Parus songarus

It breeds in the deciduous mountain forests of southeast Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and northern China.

The 13 cm long Songar tit has a dark brown cap, blackish bib, rich brown upperparts, white cheeks and cinnamon buff underparts. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are somewhat duller.

The most common call is a nasal zee, zee, zee, but the notes of the bird evidently vary considerably

The Songar tit usually excavates its own nesting hole, often in a rotten stump or in a tree, more or less decayed. Most nests examined are cups of felted material, such as fur, hair and wood chips, but feathers are sometimes used. The number of eggs is from five to six, white with small reddish spots or blotches.

They feed on caterpillars, insects and seeds, much like other tits.

References

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  • 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. ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2
  • Harrap, S., & Quinn, D. (1996). Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-3964-4