Owston's tit

Owston's tit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Sittiparus
Species:
S. owstoni
Binomial name
Sittiparus owstoni
(Ijima, 1893)
Synonyms
  • Parus varius (protonym)[2]
  • Sittiparus varius owstoni
  • Poecile varius owstoni

Owston's tit (Sittiparus owstoni) is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae that is endemic to the southern Izu Islands south of Japan, occurring only on the islands of Miyakejima, Mikurajima and Hachijojima.

Owston's tit was formerly considered as subspecies of the varied tit but was promoted to species status based on the results of a phylogenetic study published in 2014.[3][4] The species was first described by Ijima Isao in 1893, based on two females from Miyake-jima obtained by Alan Owston's collector, and named Parus owstoni in his honour.[2] This was the first description of a bird by a zoologist from Japan.[5]: 276, 315 

It is larger than the varied tit, and lacks the buffish forehead and side of neck.[6]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2017). "Sittiparus owstoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T103758982A118641514. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103758982A118641514.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Ijima Isao (1893). "Description of a New Species of Parus from Miyakeshima". Dōbutsugaku zasshi. 5 (62): 445–446.
  3. ^ McKay, B.D.; Mays Jnr, H.L.; Tao, C.-T.; Wan, D.; Higuchi, H.; Nishium, I. (2014). "Incorporating color into integrative taxonomy: analysis of the Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius) complex in East Asia". Systems Biology. 63 (4): 505–517. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syu016. PMID 24603127.
  4. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Waxwings and their allies, tits & penduline tits". World Bird List Version 6.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  5. ^ Hachisuka Masauji (1942). "List of Birds Described by the Japanese Authors" 日本人の手によつて記録された鳥類 [List of Birds Described by the Japanese Authors]. Tori (in English and Japanese). 11 (53–54): 270–351. doi:10.3838/jjo1915.11.270.
  6. ^ Gosler, A.; Clament, P. (2016). "Varied Tit (Poecile varius)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 16 February 2016.(subscription required)