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The 'Azure Tit', ''Cyanistes cyanus '' (often still ''Parus cyanus ''), is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout Russia and central Asia.
It is found in temperate and subarctic deciduous or mixed woodlands, scrub and marshes. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. It nests in a tree hole, laying about 10 eggs. The bird is a close sitter, hissing and biting when disturbed. Its food is insects and seeds.
This 12-13 cm bird is unmistakable. The head, tail corners, wing bars and underparts are white. There is a dark line through the eye, and the upperparts are blue.
This is the eastern counterpart of the common European Blue Tit. It will hybridise with that species, but the offspring usually show a blue crown, rather than the white of Azure Tit. The calls are similar to Blue Tit, calling ''dee, dee, dee'' or a scolding ''churr''. The song is a ''tsi-tsi-tshurr-tsi-tsi-tshurr'', which has been described as intermediate between Blue Tit and Crested Tit.

Contents

Taxonomic notes

References

Taxonomic notes

Most authorities retain ''Cyanistes'' as a subgenus of ''Parus'', but the American Ornithologists' Union treats ''Cyanistes'' as a distinct genus. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence analysis which suggests that ''Cyanistes'' in not only distinct, but not close to other titmice (Gill ''et al.'', 2005).
The Azure Tit not infrequently hybridizes with the Blue Tit in western Russia; the resulting birds are called 'Pleske's Tit' (''Cyanistes'' × ''pleskei'') and were once considered a distinct species.

References

★ Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

★ 'Gill', Frank B.; Slikas, Beth & Sheldon, Frederick H. (2005): Phylogeny of titmice (Paridae): II. Species relationships based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-''b'' gene. ''Auk'' '122': 121-143. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0121:POTPIS]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract

★ 'Harrap', Simon & 'Quinn', David (1996): ''Tits, Nuthatches & Treecreepers''. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-3964-4