Central and eastern Nepal eastern in narrow band along southern flank of Himalayas to at
least Bhutan, extending north of main range into south-western China (south-eastern Xizang eastern to
the Yi’ong Zangbo and Po Tsangpo).
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Rufous-fronted Bushtit (Aegithalos iouschistos) [XC812986]
by Mike Nelson from Polangpati, Rasuwa, Bagmati Province, Nepal (call)
Rufous-fronted Bushtit (Aegithalos iouschistos) [XC812198]
by Marc Anderson from Polangpati, Rasuwa, Bagmati Province, Nepal (call)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with White-throated Tit (Aegithalos niveogularis), Black-browed Tit (Aegithalos bonvaloti) and Burmese Tit (Aegithalos sharpei) and all sometimes treated as conspecific, but they seem to be morphologically fairly distinct from one another and, while ranges overlap only minimally or not at all, there is no evidence of intergradation or hybridization between any of them.
sharpei (Rippon, 1904) - South-western Myanmar. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Burmese Tit (Aegithalos sharpei).
bonvaloti (Oustalet, 1892) - South-central China (western and central Sichuan south to south-eastern Xizang, north-western Yunnan and Weining region of western Guizhou) and extreme north-eastern Myanmar (east of R Irrawaddy, south to Myitkyina). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Black-browed Tit (Aegithalos bonvaloti).
obscuratus (Mayr, 1940) - North-central Sichuan (mountains Nwest of Red Basin, in region of Wenchuan), in central China. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Black-browed Tit (Aegithalos bonvaloti).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet