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Coal Tit

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                    iCoal Tit

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Passeriformes
   Family:  Paridae
   Genus:   Periparus
   Species: P. ater

                                Binomial name

   Periparus ater
   Linnaeus, 1758)

                                  Synonyms

   Parus ater

   The Coal Tit, Periparus ater (often still Parus ater), is a passerine
   bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident
   breeder throughout Europe, Asia and northern Africa. It is resident,
   and most birds do not migrate.

   The Coal Tit is 10–11.5 cm in length, and has a distinctive large white
   nape spot on its black head. The head, throat and neck of the adult are
   glossy blue-black, setting off the white on the nape and sides of the
   face; the white tips of the coverts show as a double wingbar. The
   underparts are white shading through buff to rufous on the flanks. The
   bill is black, the legs lead-coloured and irides dark brown.

   The young bird is duller than the adult, the black head having no
   sheen, and the white of the nape and cheeks is tinged with yellow.

   There are a number of subspecies. The British race P. a. britannicus
   has an olive brown back, distinguishing it from the nominate
   continental race P. a. ater in which the back is bluish grey. The North
   African race P. a. ledouci has yellow underparts and cheeks, and the
   Cypriot P. a. cypriotes has a buff tinge to its upperparts, and deep
   buff underparts.

   Coal Tits will form small flocks in winter with other tits. This
   species resembles other tits in acrobatic skill and restless activity,
   though it more frequently pitches on a trunk, and in little hops
   imitates the Treecreeper. Its food is similar to that of the others; it
   is keen on beechmast, picks out the seeds from larch and fir cones, and
   joins Redpolls and Siskins in birches and alders. During these food
   hunts it keeps up an incessant short flight or flock call; the song, if
   song it can be called, is a strident if-he, if-he, if-he, heard most
   frequently from January to June, but also in autumn. One variant of
   this song or call ends with a sharp ichi.

   A favourite nesting site is a hole in a rotting tree-stump, often low
   down, and the nest is deep within the hole; holes in the ground,
   burrows of mice or rabbits, chinks between the stones in walls, old
   nests of magpies or other large birds, and squirrel dreys are also
   occupied. The materials, moss, hair and grass, are closely felted
   together, and rabbit fur or feathers added for lining; seven to eleven
   red spotted white eggs of the usual tit type are laid, as a rule, in
   May, but second broods are rare.

Systematics

   Most authorities still treat the Coal Tit in the subgenus Periparus,
   but the American Ornithologists' Union considers Periparus a distinct
   genus. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis;
   Periparus seems to be closer to the Poecile chickadees than to other
   titmice (Gill et al., 2005).

   In addition, the same data suggests that this species is paraphyletic
   in regard to the Spot-winged Tit which looks like a slightly crested,
   darker version of this bird. Either the Spot-winged Tit could have to
   be included in P. ater, or some Coal Tits could be considered a
   distinct species. As with all studies of mtDNA sequences however,
   hybridization may obfuscate the actual relationships and indeed it
   appears that it does in this case.
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