''Machlolophus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of birds in the tit family. The species were formerly placed with many others in the genus ''

Parus ''Parus'' is a genus of Old World birds in the tit family Paridae. It was formerly a large genus containing most of the 50 odd species in the family Paridae. The genus was split into several resurrected genera following the publication of a deta ...

'' but were moved to ''Machlolophus'' based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 that showed that the members formed a distinct

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

. The name ''Machlolophus'' was introduced by the German ornithologist

Jean Cabanis Jean Louis Cabanis (8 March 1816 – 20 February 1906) was a German ornithologist. He worked at the bird collections of the Natural History Museum in Berlin becoming its first curator of birds in 1850. He founded the ''Journal für Ornithologie ...

in 1850. The word is derived from the classical Greek ''makhlos'' meaning luxuriant, and ''lophos'' meaning crest. The following species, all from Asia, have been placed in the genus:

References

Bird genera {{Paridae-stub