Yellow-cheeked Tit Machlolophus spilonotus ranges eastern Himalayas in Nepal through northeast India and much of southern China to Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Three of the four ssp. in China: rex south-central Sichuan and southern Yunnan across southern provinces to Fujian and southern Zhejiang; also Hainan. Nominate southern Tibet and extreme northwest Yunnan (Dulong Gorge) and subviridis western Yunnan. Hybrid population spilonotus x rex reported western Yunnan south to Tengchong (Harrap and Quinn, 382). Generally resident, with some seasonal dispersal. In summer to 3000 m (9,840 ft.), in winter down to 300 m (980 ft.). HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Lower canopy of temperate and subtropical evergreen forest. Usually in pairs or small parties; sometimes mixed foraging flocks. ID & COMPARISON Male rex has forehead, lores, cheeks, and back of crest bright yellow. Black eye-stripe extends behind eye only. Front of crest black. Mantle grey with black streaks. Wings black, with white tips to median and greater coverts forming bold double wingbar; white patch on primaries; tertials tipped white. Flight feathers edged grey. Tail black; outer feathers have white outer webs. Black bib, breast, and wide belly stripe. Sides of lower breast grey. Female slightly duller, especially on bib, with olive wash to upperparts and yellow tinge to wingbars. Juvenile male duller than female, with faint bib, olive-grey underparts, a shorter crest, and no belly stripe. Juvenile female paler still. Nominate sexes nearly identical. Upperparts olive-yellow, spotted black; yellow on underparts fades towards vent. Black ventral line of nominate less extensive than male rex. Race subviridis similar to nominate, but has upperparts black with yellow scaling. Closely related Himalayan Black-lored Tit M. xanthogenys, recorded in Tibet, has black forehead and lores, broader black stripe behind eye, more uniformly greenish upperparts, and brighter yellow underparts. BARE PARTS Bill black. Legs bluish-grey. VOICE Song and calls recall Japanese Tit Parus cinereus minor, but slightly deeper, and calls less metallic. — Craig Brelsford
SOUND-RECORDINGS
Yellow-cheeked Tit Machlolophus spilonotus rex, song, small wood (27.006585, 117.074617) near Qingyun Temple, Emeifeng, Fujian, China, elev. 1500 m (4,930 ft.), May, by Craig Brelsford (0:18; 1.5 MB)
Yellow-cheeked Tit M. s. rex, song, small wood (27.006585, 117.074617) near Qingyun Temple, Emeifeng, Fujian, elev. 1500 m (4,930 ft.), May, by Craig Brelsford (0:05; 1 MB)
Yellow-cheeked Tit Machlolophus spilonotus, race undetermined, song, near Jiujezi at Baihualing, Yunnan, China, March, by Craig Brelsford (0:22; 1 MB)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gosler, A. G. and P. Clement. Family Paridae (Tits and Chickadees). P. 743 in: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliot, and D. A. Christie, eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, 2007.
Grimmett, Richard, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp, and Sherub. Birds of Bhutan and the Eastern Himalayas. Helm/Bloomsbury, London, 2019.
Harrap, Simon and David Quinn. Chickadees, Tits, Nuthatches, & Treecreepers. Princeton University Press, 1996.
MacKinnon, John. Guide to the Birds of China. Oxford University Press, 2022.
THE TITS AND CHICKADEES OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com covers every species in the family Paridae in China. Click any link:
Fire-capped Tit Cephalopyrus flammiceps
Yellow-browed Tit Sylviparus modestus
Sultan Tit Melanochlora sultanea
Rufous-naped Tit Periparus rufonuchalis
Rufous-vented Tit P. rubidiventris
Coal Tit P. ater
Yellow-bellied Tit Pardaliparus venustulus
Grey Crested Tit Lophophanes dichrous
Varied Tit Sittiparus varius
White-browed Tit Poecile superciliosus
Pere David’s Tit P. davidi
Black-bibbed Tit P. hypermelaenus
Marsh Tit P. palustris
Sichuan Tit P. weigoldicus
Willow Tit P. montanus
Azure Tit Cyanistes cyanus
Ground Tit Pseudopodoces humilis
Great Tit Parus major
Japanese Tit P. cinereus minor, P. c. tibetanus, P. c. commixtus
Cinereous Tit P. c. hainanus
Green-backed Tit P. monticolus
Himalayan Black-lored Tit Machlolophus xanthogenys
Yellow-cheeked Tit M. spilonotus
See also these Taiwan endemics:
Chestnut-bellied Tit Sittiparus castaneoventris
Yellow Tit Machlolophus holsti
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
