Bird Photography · The Indian List
Tits and Chickadees
2 of 15 species photographed
Fifteen species, small, active, big-headed birds that work twigs and buds at speed, usually upside down as often as right-side up, and usually in the company of other small birds rather than alone. Several of the Himalayan species carry a crest, which the more familiar plains and garden tits mostly lack, and head pattern — the specific arrangement of black, white and colour on the face — is what separates most species in the family at a glance.
Green-backed Tit is the Himalayan counterpart to the widespread Great Tit further south, and shows the same basic template shared across the family: black head, white cheek patch, and a black central stripe running down otherwise bright underparts, with a greenish back that gives the species its name.
15Species in India
2Photographed
Twigs and buds, often upside downHow they feed
Mixed flocks, rarely aloneHow they travel
Head patternWhat separates the species
The species
Yellow-browed Tit
Not yet foundSultan Tit
Not yet foundCoal Tit
Not yet foundRufous-naped Tit
Not yet foundRufous-vented Tit
Not yet foundGray-crested Tit
Not yet foundAzure Tit
Not yet foundGround Tit
Not yet foundGreen-backed Tit
Parus monticolus1 frame- Status
- Resident
- Range
- The Himalaya from Himachal Pradesh east through Arunachal Pradesh
- Habitat
- Broadleaf and mixed forest, forest edge and well-wooded gardens
- IUCN
- Least Concern
A black head with a bold white cheek patch, a black central stripe running down bright yellow underparts, a greenish-yellow back, and blue-grey wings crossed by two white wingbars — the double wingbar is the clearest way to separate this species from the very similar Great Tit further south and west, which shows only one.
FM0275
Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, West Kameng, Arunachal PradeshPerched beside a dry leaf on a budding branch, side-on.
Asian Tit
Yet to uploadWhite-naped Tit
Not yet foundHimalayan Black-lored Tit
Not yet foundIndian Yellow Tit
Yet to uploadYellow-cheeked Tit
Machlolophus spilonotus1 frame- Status
- Resident
- Range
- The Himalaya from Himachal Pradesh east through Arunachal Pradesh, mid elevation
- Habitat
- Broadleaf and mixed forest, mid to high elevation
- IUCN
- Least Concern
A crested tit with a black-and-yellow spiky crest, a black eye-mask, bold white-spotted black wing coverts, and yellow-olive underparts. The black crest and mask against the yellow face give it a sharper, more contrasty look than the plainer tits in this group — one of the more colourful members of the family in India.
FM0279
Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, West Kameng, Arunachal PradeshPerched on a budding branch, crest raised, backlit in early light.
Photographs by Fareed Mohmed