Sultan Tit

Melanochlora sultanea (Hodgson, 1837)

≈20 cmLength38 gWeight

The largest tit has a black body and yellow belly, and usually a bright yellow crest on the crown.

Busiest months: February–March · Most records: Thailand, India, Malaysia

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Forehead and crown crest bright yellow, black in some subspecies
Upperparts, sides of head, throat and breast deep black with a green metallic gloss
Deep yellow below breast
Bill black; legs and feet gray

Male, female and young

Sexes similar, but the female is slightly duller, with darker yellow areas; juveniles resemble the female but have a shorter crest.

Voice

Loud, short, varied whistles, also a rattling “chi-dip, tri-trip” and thin, high-pitched, repeated “wheet” whistles.

Where and when it's recorded

Sultan Tit has been recorded at 166 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 9 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Bukit FraserMalaysia817 records
Kaeng Krachan NPThailand763 records
Dihing Patkai NP – SoraipungIndia711 records

More places

Dihing Patkai NP – SoraipungIndia606 records
Kaeng Krachan NP – stream crossings 1–3Thailand586 records
Kaeng Krachan NP – km 9 vicinityThailand494 records
Mahananda WLS – LatpancharIndia465 records
Kaeng Krachan NP – Ban Krang CampgroundsThailand424 records
Jianfengling NNRChina328 records
Nameri National Park & SurroundingsIndia308 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Thailand India Malaysia China Vietnam Bhutan Nepal Myanmar (Burma)

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

The sultan tit (Melanochlora sultanea) is an Asian forest bird with black upperparts plumage and yellow underparts, dark bill, and (depending on subspecies) a yellow or black crest. The young bird is duller than the adult and has a shorter crest. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Melanochlora, which is fairly distinct from other tits, third-basal in the family Paridae after Cephalopyrus and Sylviparus.

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

Questions

How big is the Sultan Tit?

The Sultan Tit is about ≈20 cm long and weighs around 38 g.

Where does the Sultan Tit live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: widespread. It is most often recorded in Thailand, India and Malaysia.

When is the best time to see the Sultan Tit?

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

Is the Sultan Tit endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Sultan Tit as Least Concern.

What does the Sultan Tit eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Sultan Tit in?

It belongs to the family Tits, Chickadees (Paridae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length: ≈20 cm
Weight: 38 g
Habitat: Forest
Diet: Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle: Perches in trees
Migration: Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 106 mm
Tail: 89 mm
Bill: 18 mm
Tarsus: 23 mm

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

Range

Oriental: widespread

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 3

Melanochlora sultanea sultanea e Himalayas to s China, n Thailand and Myanmar
Melanochlora sultanea flavocristata c, s Thailand, Malay Pen., Sumatra and Hainan I. (off se China)
Melanochlora sultanea seorsa se China and n Indochina