White-naped Tit

Overview

The white-naped tit (Machlolophus nuchalis), also known as the white-winged tit, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is an Indian endemic species classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• The only pied (black-and-white) tit in India, featuring black wing-coverts, crown, sides of head, chin, throat, and a ventral band on the breast and belly.
• White cheeks below the eye, ear-coverts, and a distinct patch on the nape, with white on the outer wing primaries and base of the secondaries.
• The two outer tail feathers are completely white, while the adjacent feathers have a white outer web and black remainder; the white of the flanks can be suffused with yellow.
• Detected by musical whistling notes described as 'tee-whi-whi' or 'see pit-pit-pit-pit'.

Habitat

This species inhabits dry thorn scrub forest, specifically dense Acacia scrub, and is found in two disjunct populations in western and southern India. It has a patchy distribution ranging from Kutch, Rajasthan, and Haryana in the west to the Kaveri valley, Biligirirangan Hills, and Andhra Pradesh in the south.

Diet

The birds feed on insects and the berries of Salvadora oleoides, occasionally obtaining nectar from Capparis aphylla flowers and drinking from rainwater puddles. Chicks are fed mainly on non-hairy caterpillars, with foraging activity continuing as late as 20:00 in the evening.

Did you know?

Individuals have been observed using the same roost hollow for more than six years, and the female is accompanied by the male to her roost before he proceeds to his own separate site.