Black-throated Bushtit (Aegithalos concinnus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Black-throated Bushtit

Aegithalos concinnus (Gould, 1855)

10 cmLength6.1 gWeight

It is a small bird with a black throat and mask, often gathering in large flocks of up to 40 birds.

Busiest months: April · Most records: China, India, Nepal

Looks like Long-tailed Tit

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Nominate subspecies has a chestnut crown
  2. Deep black patch on the throat
  3. Black ring around the eye, resembling a mask
  4. Tail not particularly long, deep gray

Male, female and young

Sexes similar.

Similar species

Long-tailed Tit
Long-tailed Tit

Black-throated Bushtit has a medium-length tail, whereas Long-tailed Tit has a long tail.

Where and when it's recorded

Black-throated Bushtit has been recorded at 770 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Nantou – Meifeng Highland Experimental Farm of NTUTaiwan (China)1,056 records
  2. SattalIndia1,015 records
  3. Dasyueshan IBA – Xiaoxueshan Lodge (50K)Taiwan (China)959 records
More places
  1. Nantou – Xitou Nature Education AreaTaiwan (China)823 records
  2. Yushan NP – TatakaTaiwan (China)794 records
  3. Hangzhou Botanical GardenChina737 records
  4. Dasyueshan IBA – Dasyueshan Forest-Road 23.5KTaiwan (China)624 records
  5. PangotIndia578 records
  6. Jiangyangfan Eco-ParkChina565 records
  7. Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi Lang (W), AKA Doi San JuThailand527 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaIndiaNepalVietnamThailandBhutanMyanmar (Burma)Cambodia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

In older sources, "black-throated tit" can also mean the rufous-naped tit or the rufous-vented tit, which are true tits.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Black-throated Bushtit?

The Black-throated Bushtit is about 10 cm long and weighs around 6.1 g.

Where does the Black-throated Bushtit live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas to southern Vietnam. It is most often recorded in China, India and Nepal.

When is the best time to see the Black-throated Bushtit?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Black-throated Bushtit endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-throated Bushtit as Least Concern.

What does the Black-throated Bushtit eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Black-throated Bushtit in?

It belongs to the family Bushtits (Aegithalidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
10 cm
Weight
6.1 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
49 mm
Tail
47 mm
Bill
7 mm
Tarsus
16 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: Himalayas to southern Vietnam

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2
  • Aegithalos concinnus talifuensis ne Myanmar, s China and n Indochina
  • Aegithalos concinnus concinnus ec, se China, ne Vietnam and Taiwan (China)

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Bushtits Aegithalidae
Genus
Aegithalos

Other birds in the genus Aegithalos

Long-tailed TitLong-tailed TitAegithalos caudatusSilver-throated BushtitSilver-throated BushtitAegithalos glaucogularisWhite-cheeked BushtitWhite-cheeked BushtitAegithalos leucogenysPygmy BushtitPygmy BushtitAegithalos exilisWhite-throated BushtitWhite-throated BushtitAegithalos niveogularisRufous-fronted BushtitRufous-fronted BushtitAegithalos iouschistosBlack-browed BushtitBlack-browed BushtitAegithalos bonvalotiSooty BushtitSooty BushtitAegithalos fuliginosusWhite-browed Tit-warblerWhite-browed Tit-warblerLeptopoecile sophiaeCrested Tit-warblerCrested Tit-warblerLeptopoecile elegans
Black-throated Bushtit

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Hari Paudyel. ↗

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