White-winged Black Tit

Overview

The white-winged black tit (Melaniparus leucomelas) is a passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is also known as the white-winged tit, dark-eyed black tit, or northern black tit, and was first described in 1840.

Identification

• Mainly black plumage with a distinct white wing patch
• Distinguished by its dark eye, which separates it from the more northern white-shouldered tit

Habitat

Found across central Africa, ranging from Angola in the west to Ethiopia in the east. The species has two subspecies: M. l. leucomelas in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and South Sudan, and M. l. insignis from the African equator to southern subtropics.

Did you know?

Formerly classified in the genus Parus, this species was moved to Melaniparus following a 2013 molecular phylogenetic analysis that established its distinct lineage.