The Black-Throated Tit or Black-Throated Bushtit (Aegithalos concinnus) is a small and rather active bird that is found over a large part of Asia, including the foothills of the Himalayas, stretching northern India north-eastern Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, northern Myanmar, China, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
It will come as no surprise to regular readers that I saw this bird in India.
Although it is a common bird I found it hard to get decent pictures of it due to its fast movement and tendency (as far as I can tell) to like being in the tops of trees!
Even from these pictures you can see that it is a rather charming little bird, with a black throat and a black 'bandit mask' around the eye. There is considerable variation in the exact details of the plumage of this bird over its range. Some studies, based on DNA rather than plumage, have suggested that some of the recognised subspecies should probably be elevated to full species level. As I only saw the birds in India, my life list will not be extended by such studies!
This species is not a true tit, being more closely related to the Long Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) than the 'classic' tits and chickadees of Europe and North America.
As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below. Hope all is well, SM
Great photos of a species that is foreign to me.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteA bonny wee birdie, that! YAM xx
A beautiful blend of observation and storytelling, I enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos of this bird, Stewart.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful chestnut coloured head Reminds me a little bit of the Tree Sparrows in the UK Stewart. Thanks for hosting and commenting. Have a great week ahead.
ReplyDeleteA little beauty. Love the front shot!
ReplyDeleteI first saw the charming little sprite in Bhutan in 2007. Such joy!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful bird, Well captured
ReplyDeleteBeautiful little bird with its black mask!
ReplyDeleteExcellent shots as always!
ReplyDeleteSuch a tiny, pretty bird. We don't have any of those birds around here, so it is lovely to see your photos.
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