Yellow penduline tit

Yellow penduline tit
The bird and its nest. Alphonse Trémeau de Rochebrune, 1884
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Remizidae
Genus:	Anthoscopus
Species:	A. parvulus
Binomial name
Anthoscopus parvulus (Heuglin, 1864)
Synonyms
Aegithalus calotropiphilus Rochebrune, 1883[2] Anthoscopus citrinus Reichenow, 1921[2]

Yellow penduline tit (Anthoscopus parvulus) is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. This small yellow passerine bird is found in semi-arid savanna regions of West Africa.

Taxonomy

The yellow penduline tit was formally described in 1864 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin under the binomial name Aegithalus parvulus.[3][2] This species is now placed in the genus Anthoscopus that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis.[4][5] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek anthos meaning "blossom" or "flower" with skopos meaning "searcher". The specific epithet parvulus is Latin for "very small" (a diminutive of parvus meaning "small").[6] The yellow penduline tit is considered by some to be monotypic as no subspecies are clearly distinguishable.[5] The ranges of some proposed subspecies are however widely disjunct.

• A. parvulus senegalensis (Grote, 1924) described based on a specimen obtained by Victor Planchat from Saint Louis, Senegal.
• A. parvulus aureus Bannerman, 1939 - N.W. Ghana
• A. parvulus parvulus (Heuglin, 1864) - South Chad, Uganda

Description

The yellow penduline tit is around 8 cm (3.1 in) in overall length and weighs 6–8 g (0.21–0.28 oz). It is olive-yellow above with bright yellow underparts and a dull greyish stripe through the eye. The upper wing is brown with feathers edged with yellow. The primaries are edged with buff-white which generates a narrow whitish wing panel. The tail is brown. The bird has a conical pointed bill and strong legs. The sexes are alike.[7]

References

1. BirdLife International (2017). "Anthoscopus parvulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22711646A118702304. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22711646A118702304.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
2. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 65.
3. von Heuglin, Theodor (1864). "Ornithologische Miscellen aus Central-Africa". Journal für Ornithologie (in German). 12 (70): 241–276 [260].
4. Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 89.
5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Waxwings and allies, tits, penduline tits". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
6. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 49, 293. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
7. Madge, S.C. (2008). "Yellow penduline-tit". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D.A. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-84-96553-45-3.