The sombre tit (''Poecile lugubris'') is a species of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird belonging to the family

Paridae The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Many were formerly classified in the genus ''Parus''. Eurasian and African members of this f ...

, the “true” tits and chickadees. This species is found in southeast

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and southwest

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Taxonomy

The sombre tit was first formally described ias ''Parus lugubris'' in 1820 by the Dutch

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch patrician, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob ...

with its type locality given as "Dalmatia and Hungary". This species is now classified in the genus ''

Poecile ''Poecile'' is a genus of birds in the tit (bird), tit family Paridae. It contains 15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained ''Poe ...

'' rather than ''

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 ...

''.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies have shown that the sombre tit is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to the white-browed tit (''Poecile superciliosus'').

Description

The sombre tit is slightly smaller than a

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of No ...

(''Parus major'') with similar proportions, although in plumage it most resembles a

willow tit The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and o ...

(''Po. montanus'') but it has a brownish to grey=black cap which extends further into the sides of the head with the off-white chhek patch being restricted to a narrow triangle by the larger bib. The head is often peaked when the bird is in an upright stance, unlike the willow tit. Compared to the

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

marsh tit (''Po. palustris'') the sombre tit has a proportionately longer tail. The juveniles are duller and tinged with brown than the adults.

Distribution

The sombre tit is found in southeastern Europe, in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, and Western Asia. Its range extends from Slovenia and Romania, south as far as

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and to

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

, in Turkey. In Asia its extends across

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, from the Greek island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

, into the southern Caucasus in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, east into Iraq and Iran and south to Israel and Lebanon.

Habitat and behaviour

Sombre tits occur in low density in thin woodlands at the elevation range between 1000 and 1600 metres above sea level. These birds are associated with mosaic landscapes where there is moderate shrub and tree cover and which receive a relatively high amount of

insolation Solar irradiance is the power per unit area ( surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre ...

. They will forage in tree and bushes as well as on the ground. Similar to the other tit species, the sombre tit is a cavity-nesting species, which nests in holes in juniper, willow, poplar, and other relevant tree species. In some cases they nest in iron pipes (e.g. the ones used for orchard fencing), and in artificial nest-boxes. The clutch usually consists of 4 to 9 eggs, having two clutches per year. They breed on mountain slopes, in open deciduous forest, lower down on in trees and bushes in rocky terrain, and in fruit orchards. The breeding season lasts from early April until the beginning of August. Their diet mainly consists of insects, especially caterpillars and other larvae. It forages on the ground and in lower branches.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q574281 sombre tit Birds of Europe Birds of Azerbaijan Birds of West Asia sombre tit