Black-headed penduline tit explained

The black-headed penduline tit (Remiz macronyx) is a species of bird in the family Remizidae.It is found in Central Asia in reed beds along lakes or rivers.^[1] Its distribution is fragmented. It is the least thoroughly-documented bird in the Remiz genus, and has been described as one of the most poorly-known bird in Central Asia.^[2]

Diet

It is omnivorous.^[3]

Taxonomy

Four subspecies are recognised:^[4]

• R. m. macronyx (Severtsov, 1873) – southwest Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, north & southeast Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and northeast Afghanistan.
• R. m. neglectus (Zarudny, 1908) – north Iran and south Turkmenistan. Its males typically have heads more fully covered in black plumage, with fewer traces of the chestnut seen in other subspecies.
• R. m. nigricans (Zarudny, 1908) – southeast Iran and southwest Afghanistan. It is generally believed to have gone extinct.^[5] It had a dark head and a chestnut body.
• R. m. ssaposhnikowi (Johansen, HE, 1907) – southeast Kazakhstan

The IUCN considers R. macronyx to be a synonym of Remiz pendulinus, the Eurasian penduline tit.

Notes and References

1. Wang . Hui . Mei . Yu . Que . Pinjia . Zhang . Zhengwang . Chen . De . May 2023 . First breeding record of the black-headed penduline tit (Remiz macronyx) in China . Ecology and Evolution . 13 . 5 . e10078 . 10.1002/ece3.10078 . 37214619 . 10199454 . 2023EcoEv..1310078W . 2045-7758.
2. Kittelberger . Kyle D. . Hohenthal . Noel . Ağırkaya . Kayahan . Çoban . Ayşegül . Hakkı Şekercioğlu . Çağan . 2022-10-02 . Poorly studied Black-headed Penduline Tit (Remiz macronyx) recorded for the first time in Turkey (Aves: Remizidae) . Zoology in the Middle East . 68 . 4 . 283–290 . 10.1080/09397140.2022.2145796 . 0939-7140.
3. Bot, S., & van Dijk, R. E. (2009). Black-headed Penduline Tits Remiz macronyx in Kazakhstan. Sandgrouse, 31, 171–176
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . 2023 . Waxwings and allies, tits, penduline tits . IOC World Bird List . 13.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 8 December 2023.
5. Shirihai, H., & Svensson, L. (2018). Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds, Volume 2: Passerines: Flycatchers to Buntings (1st ed.). London: Bloomsbury Publishing.