The penduline tits constitute the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, Remizidae, of small

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 are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, related to the true tits. All but the

verdin The verdin (''Auriparus flaviceps'') is a species of penduline tit. It is the monotypic, only species in the genus ''Auriparus'' and the only representative of the old world family Remizidae to be found in North America. Taxonomy The verdin ...

make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees (whence "penduline", hanging), usually over water.

Characteristics

Penduline tits are tiny passerines, ranging from 7.5 to 11 cm in length, that resemble the true tits (

Paridae The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Most were formerly classified in the genus ''Parus''. Members of this family are common ...

) but have finer bills with more needle-like points. Their wings are short and rounded and their short tails are notched (except the stub-tailed tit). The penduline tits' typical plumage colors are pale grays and yellows and white, though the European penduline tit has black and chestnut markings and some species have bright yellow or red.

Distribution and habitat

The penduline tits live in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

and Africa and North America. The genus ''

Remiz ''Remiz'' is a genus of birds in the family Remizidae, commonly known as the Eurasian pendulines (in contrast to the African pendulines). Like other penduline tit The penduline tits constitute the family, Remizidae, of small passerine bird ...

'' is almost exclusively Palearctic, ranging discontinuously from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and the tip of northern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

through to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

and Japan. The largest genus, ''

Anthoscopus ''Anthoscopus'' is a genus of birds in the penduline tit family Remizidae. The genus is restricted to Sub-Saharan Africa, where it ranges from the Sahel to South Africa. Unlike many of the Eurasian penduline, these species are not generally bird ...

'', is found in sub- Saharan Africa from the Sahel through to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The

lives in arid parts of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Several species of penduline tit are migratory, although this behaviour is only shown in species found in Asia and Europe; African species and the verdin are apparently sedentary. The Eurasian penduline tit is migratory over parts of its range, with birds in northern Europe moving south in the winter but birds in southern Europe remaining close to their breeding areas. In contrast the

Chinese penduline tit The Chinese penduline tit (''Remiz consobrinus'') is a bird in the family Remizidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1870. It is found in China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia. There are 10 species in the famil ...

is fully migratory and undertakes long-distance migrations. Most live in open country with trees or bushes, ranging from desert to marsh to woodland, but the

forest penduline tit The forest penduline tit (''Anthoscopus flavifrons'') is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, a ...

lives in

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

. They spend most of the year in small flocks.

Behaviour

Insects form the larger part of the diet of the penduline tits, and they are active foragers. Their long conical bill is used to probe into cracks and prise open holes in order to obtain prey. Nectar, seeds and fruits may also be taken seasonally. Their foraging behaviour is reminiscent of the true tits (

), foraging upside-down on small branches, manoeuvring branches and leaves with their feet in order to insect them, and clasping large prey items with one foot while dismembering them. The common name of the family reflects the tendency of most species to construct elaborate pear-shaped

nests A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

. These nests are woven from

spiderweb A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spi ...

, wool and animal hair and soft plant materials, which are suspended from twigs and branches in trees. The nests of the African genus ''Anthoscopus'' are even more elaborate than the Eurasian ''Remiz'', incorporating a false entrance above the true entrance which leads to a false chamber. The true nesting chamber is accessed by the parent opening a hidden flap, entering and then closing the flap shut again, the two sides sealing with sticky spider webs. Remiz_pendulinus_Naumann

The verdin builds a domed nest out of thorny twigs. In some penduline tit species the eggs are white, sometimes with red spots. The verdin lays blue-green eggs with red spots. Incubation lasts about 13 or 14 days, and the nestlings fledge at about 18 days. In penduline tits, higher incidences of extra-pair paternity results in lower rates of male care, suggesting that extra-pair offspring devalues parental care.

Systematics

The family Remizidae was introduced in 1891 (as Remizeae) by the French ornithologist

Léon Olphe-Galliard Victor-Aimé-Léon Olphe-Galliard (27 October 1825, in Lyon – 2 February 1893, in Hendaye, Basses Pyrénées) was a French ornithologist.The Ibis Vol.6 1893 "LEON OLPHE-GALLIARD, a French ornithologist devoted to the study of the birds of h ...

. Sometimes, these birds are included as subfamily Remizinae in the tit family

. Which taxonomic lineup scientists prefers is primarily a matter of taste; that these families are close relatives is well established by now. If they are considered a separate family, the sultan tit and the

yellow-browed tit The yellow-browed tit (''Sylviparus modestus'') is a species of bird in the family Paridae. It is placed in the monotypic genus ''Sylviparus''. It is found in the southern Himalayas, Northeast India and southern China with smaller amounts in Sou ...

would possibly need to be excluded from the Paridae. The placement of the tit-hylia within this family is particularly controversial, it having variously been placed with the

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly ...

waxbill Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "f ...

s, honeyeaters and most recently close to the

green hylia The green hylia (''Hylia prasina'') is a monotypic genus widespread in tropical Africa, where it mostly inhabits the understory and mid-stratum of moist forest. It is a canopy insectivore which had been tentatively placed within the family of Ce ...

. It is 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, cetti ...

. The family contains 11 species in 3 genera:

References

External links