Himalayan Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys) [XC797084]
by Bram Piot from Rudraprayag (near Agastmuni), Garhwal Division, Uttarakhand, India (call, song)
Himalayan Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys) [XC472794]
by Rajeev Lochan from Kunkuli, Kedarnath NP, Uttarakhand, India (song)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Yellow-cheeked Tit (Machlolophus spilonotus), and has in the past been considered conspecific. Subspecies aplonotus and travancoreensis have been treated as representing one or, alternatively, two separate species. They intergrade in Western Ghats (between Konkan and Hassan), in west of range, where intermediates described as additional subspecies, xanthonotus.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
xanthogenys (Vigors, 1831) - North-western and central Himalayas from northern India east to eastern Nepal.
aplonotus Blyth, 1847 - Central India. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Indian Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus aplonotus).
travancoreensis (Whistler and Kinnear, 1932) - Western Ghats, in western peninsular India. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Indian Black-lored Tit (Machlolophus aplonotus).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet