Order Passeriformes Genus Aegithalos Higher classification Aegithalos | Phylum Chordata Family Aegithalidae Scientific name Aegithalos iouschistos Rank Species | |
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Similar Bird, Aegithalos, Sooty bushtit, Aegithalidae, Black‑browed bushtit | ||
The rufous-fronted bushtit or rufous-fronted tit (Aegithalos iouschistos) is a small passerine bird of the eastern and central Himalayas belonging to the long-tailed tit family, Aegithalidae. It forms a superspecies with the black-browed bushtit (A. bonvaloti) of China and northern Burma and the white-throated bushtit (A. niveogularis) of the western Himalayas. They have sometimes been regarded as a single species but are now often treated as separate. The ranges of the rufous-fronted and black-browed bushtits overlap slightly in China with no evidence of hybridization.
It is 11 cm long. The adult has grey upperparts and reddish-brown underparts. The head is reddish-buff with a black mask and a silver bib with black streaks and a black edge. Juveniles are paler and duller than the adults. The black-browed bushtit is similar but has a white forehead and belly and a white edge to its bib. The white-throated bushtit has a white forehead and bib and a dark breastband.
It is found in the eastern and central Himalayas in China, India, Nepal and Bhutan. It occurs in montane forests, both broad-leaved and coniferous, up to 3,600 m above sea-level. It typically feeds in flocks.