Description:

Small to medium-sized slaty-grey tit with pointed black crest. White nape and cheeks, and black throat and breast. It has whitish tips to median and greater coverts. Small size and whitish wing spots separate it from other black-crested tits. Juvenile lacks crest, and cap and bib are brownish.

Distribution:

Common resident in the south-western Gilgit-Baltistan, mainly in Gilgit, Nagar, Ghizer, Diamer and Astore. Occurs in montane and submontane conifer forests, including pine, deodar, fir, spruce and juniper, usually with shrub layer at 1800-3200m.

Behavior:

Actively and restlessly forages in lower to middle levels of conifers, searching through foliage, examining twigs and cones and hovering on outer edges. At all times may forage at lower levels in shrub layer or on ground. Food consumed is not well known, but includes small invertebrates, larvae, seeds, and berries and other fruit; takes sunflower seeds from gardens.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Spot-winged Tit in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Spot-winged Tit

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.