Aegithalos
| Aegithalos | |
|---|---|
| Long-tailed tit (Ae. caudatus europaeus), France | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Aegithalidae |
| Genus: | Aegithalos Hermann, 1804 |
| Type species | |
| Pipra europaea Hermann, 1804 = Aegithalos caudatus europaeus (Hermann, 1804) | |
| Species | |
|
see text | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Orites G.R.Gray, 1841 (preoccupied: non Keyserling & Blasius, 1840: synonym; non Moehring, 1758: suppressed) | |
Aegithalos is a genus of passerine birds in the family Aegithalidae (bushtits), encompassing the majority of the species in the family. They are native to Europe and Asia.
Taxonomy
The genus Aegithalos was introduced in 1804 by the French naturalist Johann Hermann to accommodate a single species, which he had otherwise tentatively named Pipra europaea Hermann, 1804.[1] This is a subspecies of Parus caudatus Linnaeus, 1758, now Aegithalos caudatus europaeus, the central European long-tailed tit.[2][3] The genus name is a term used by Aristotle for some European tits, including the long-tailed tit.[4]
Species
The genus contains the following eight species:[5]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Subspecies | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-tailed tit | Aegithalos caudatus | 17 | Throughout Europe and northern Asia, east to Kamchatka and Japan. | |
| Silver-throated bushtit | Aegithalos glaucogularis | 2 | Central and eastern China and south towards Yunnan. | |
| White-cheeked bushtit | Aegithalos leucogenys | Monotypic | Afghanistan, Kashmir region, and Pakistan. | |
| Pygmy bushtit | Aegithalos exilis | Monotypic | Western and central Java, Indonesia. | |
| Black-throated bushtit | Aegithalos concinnus | 7 | Foothills of the Himalaya, across northern India through north-eastern Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, northern Myanmar, China, Vietnam, to Taiwan; includes Ae. c. annamensis and Ae. c. iredalei, formerly sometimes treated as separate species.[6] | |
| White-throated bushtit | Aegithalos niveogularis | Monotypic | India, Nepal, and Pakistan. | |
| Black-browed bushtit | Aegithalos iouschistos | 4 | Eastern and central Himalayas in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and far northern Burma; includes Ae. i. bonvaloti and Ae. i. sharpei, formerly sometimes treated as separate species.[6] | |
| Sooty bushtit | Aegithalos fuliginosus | Monotypic | central China. |
Fossil record
- Aegithalos gaspariki (Late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary) [7]
- Aegithalos congruis (Pliocene of Csarnota, Hungary) [7]
References
- ^ Hermann, Johann (1804). Observationes zoologicae quibus novae complures, aliaeque animalium species describuntur et illustrantur (in Latin). Argentorati [Strasbourg]: Amandum Koenig. p. 214.
- ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 52.
- ^ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (PDF). Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 508. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
- ^ Jobling, James A. "Aegithalos". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
- ^ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
- ^ a b Hoyo, Josep del (2020). All the Birds of the World. Barcelona: Lynx edicions. pp. 630–631. ISBN 978-84-16728-37-4.
- ^ a b Kessler, E. 2013. Neogene songbirds (Aves, Passeriformes) from Hungary. – Hantkeniana, Budapest, 2013, 8: 37-149.