Black-headed Penduline Tit (Remiz macronyx) [XC743014]
by Patrik \u00c5berg from Behshahr, Mazandaran Province, Iran (call)
Black-headed Penduline Tit (Remiz macronyx) [XC405256]
by Ding Li Yong from Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran (call)
Subspecies
Remiz pendulinus (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Eurasian Penduline-Tit (Remiz pendulinus) and Black-headed Penduline-Tit (Remiz macronyx) following Harrap and Quinn (1996) who recognises four species of Remiz: pendulinus, macronyx, coronatus and consobrinus. Eck and Martens (2006) lump macronyx with pendulinus and consobrinus with coronatus citing hybridisation between macronyx and pendulinus on the north and southwest shores of the Caspian Sea as a factor, but they fail to adequately justify their treatment of White-crowned Penduline-Tit (Remiz coronatus) and Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus) as conspecific. Examination of specimens and literature by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group suggests that the four taxa are best treated as separate species owing to consistent morphological and ecological differences between them with habitat partitioning occurring where two taxa occur in sympatry. This arrangement best fits the geographic distribution of these taxa.
Forms a species group with Eurasian Penduline-Tit (Remiz pendulinus), White-crowned Penduline-Tit (Remiz coronatus) and Chinese Penduline-Tit (Remiz consobrinus). All are often considered conspecific. Sometimes considered conspecific with first of those, and the other two united as a separate species. Treatment as four distinct species based mainly on structural, as well as plumage and habitat, differences.
Present species frequently hybridizes with Eurasian Penduline-Tit (Remiz pendulinus) by northern and south-western shores of Caspian Sea. Hybrids in northern (mouth of R Ural) named as bostanjogli, and those in southern as, respectively, loudoni and altaicus; last-mentioned sometimes treated as a valid subspecies. Moreover, ssaposhnikowi believed probably to have originated as hybrid between nominate subspecies of present species and subspecies jaxarticus of Eurasian Penduline-Tit (Remiz pendulinus), although neither parent found within current range of ssaposhnikowi. Subspecies neglectus sometimes synonymized with nominate.
Birds from Aral Sea region described as subspecies aralensis, but considered inseparable from nominate.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
neglectus (Zarudny, 1908) - Northern Iran and south-western Turkmenistan.
macronyx (Severtsov, 1873) - South-western Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, northern and south-eastern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and probably north-eastern Afghanistan.
ssaposhnikowi (Johansen, HE, 1907) - South-eastern Kazakhstan (L Balkhash, L Sasykkol and L Alakol).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet