The Indian Black-lored Tit
(Machlolophus aplonotus) Indian tit, Indian yellow tit, or Himalayan
Black-lored is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The closest relative
is yellow-cheeked tit, which also has yellow tit. The Indian Black-lored Tit is
a resident breeder on the Indian subcontinent. This
species is very active and agile feeder. The bird Food includes small
invertebrates and larvae to eat fruits, taking insects and spiders from the
canopy. The black-lored tit is a common bird in open tropical forests. It is
13cm in large size with a broad black line down its otherwise yellow front.
The bird is an easy tit to
recognize in most of India. Because, the
large crest, neck, throat and head are black with yellow cheeks and supercilia.
Moreover, the upperparts are olive-green with two white or yellowish wingbars and
white outer tail feathers. Yellow Tit may always have been uncommon; the
population has been further reduced by felling of broadleaved forests. It is
unable to occupy marginal habitats such as edge and scrub, plantations of
conifers and bamboo.
However, female birds are bit
duller than males. The bird underpart color becomes gradually dull from north
to south through this tit's range. Indian Black-lored Tit like other tits, a
vocal bird, and has a large variety of calls, of which the most familiar is a
si-si. The song is a sometimes nuthatch-like chi-chi-chi,
“tzee-tzee-wheep-wheep. The month of May is mixed-species foraging flocks in
non-breeding season. Normally bird breeds in April and their nest on the tall
trees.
They are also used nets of
woodpecker or barbet holes. This species will also excavate its own hole or use
man made sites. Indian Black-lored Tit clutch is typically 3 or 5 white eggs,
spotted red. The bird is a close sitter, hissing when disturbed. The bird was previously
one of the many species in the genus Parus but was moved to Machlolophus after
a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 showed that the members of
the new genus formed a distinct clade.
