The tit hylia (''Pholidornis rushiae'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

within the genus ''Pholidornis''. It is found in rainforests in West and Central Africa. It had been placed in the family

Cettiidae Cettiidae is a newly validated family of small insectivorous songbirds (" warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" assemblage. It contains the typical bush warblers ('' Cettia'') and their relatives. As a common name, cet ...

, but in 2019 its assignment to a new family, the

Hyliidae Hyliidae is a family of passerine birds which contains just two species, the green hylia (''Hylia prasina'') and the tit hylia (''Pholidornis rushiae''). Physiological similarities and molecular phylogenetic studies strongly support the creat ...

, was strongly supported.

Taxonomy

The tit hylia was described by

John Cassin John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithology, ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and vice president at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification ...

in 1855 as ''Diceum Rushiæ'' based on a specimen collected from present-day Gabon. It was placed in the genus ''Pholidornis'' by Gustav Hartlaub two years later. Its generic name is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''pholidos'' for scale and ''ornis'' for bird.Jobling, J. A. (2018).
Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology
'. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2018). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive''. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from www.hbw.com).

Distribution and habitat

It is widespread across the African tropical rainforest.

Description

At long, it is perhaps the smallest bird native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. This species has a pale buff chest and head overlaid with heavy brown streaking. From the lower breast down to the rump, this bird is bright yellow. The legs are a bright orange color. Juveniles are less colorful and less heavily streaked.''Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi'' by Stevenson & Fanshawe. Elsevier Science (2001), Due to its small size it sometimes gets trapped in spider webs.

Behaviour

Feeding

The tit hylia is a bird of the upper and middle canopy, usually foraging from from the forest floor and rarely coming lower. It is social, feeding in small flocks of up to seven birds (although very rarely with other species). It feeds on insects, with scale insects (family

Coccoidea Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

) being an important part of the diet.

Breeding

The tit hylia is a monogamous breeder, and a report from Angola has suggested that it may engage in cooperative breeding as well. The round nest, built by the pair or group, is large, across, and is made of plant fibres. The entrance is a spout hanging from the bottom. The nest is situated up a tree. The nests are well made and strongly bound to the branches they are found on. Two eggs are laid, although there is no information about the incubation, up to four adults have been reported feeding the chicks, and the nest is used for roosting after the breeding season.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2490422

tit hylia The tit hylia (''Pholidornis rushiae'') is a species of bird, monotypic within the genus ''Pholidornis''. It is found in rainforests in West and Central Africa. It had been placed in the family Cettiidae, but in 2019 its assignment to a new famil ...

Birds of the Gulf of Guinea Birds of the African tropical rainforest

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot