The white-browed tit (''Poecile superciliosus'', formerly ''Parus superciliosus'') is a species of

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 ...

in the tit family

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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the mountain forests of central China and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

. It is 13.5–14 cm long, with a weight of 10–12 g. The plumage pattern is very similar to that of the western North American

mountain chickadee The mountain chickadee (''Poecile gambeli'') is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Taxonomy The specific name honors naturalist William Gambel. The mountain chickadee was formerly placed in the genus ''Parus'' with ...

''P. gambeli'' (of which it has on occasion been considered a subspecies, despite its being on a different continent), differing in the breast and cheeks being rusty brown, not white, and having a longer and more sharply defined white eyebrow; the back is also a richer brown, not greyish-brown (del Hoyo et al. 2007). It breeds in alpine shrub forests of ''

Berberis ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South Amer ...

'', '' Rhamnus'', '' Rhododendron'', and ''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

'' at 3,200–4,235 m altitude, descending in winter to slightly lower levels where it occurs in coniferous forests, primarily '' Picea''. It nests on the ground in rock crevices or old rodent burrows (del Hoyo et al. 2007). Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the white-browed tit is

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

to the sombre tit (''Poecile lugubris'').

References

*Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A., & Christie D. (eds). (2007). '' Handbook of the Birds of the World''. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. {{Taxonbar, from=Q376290 white-browed tit Birds of Central China Birds of Tibet Endemic birds of China white-browed tit Taxonomy articles created by Polbot