Paridae (Titmice) of the Philippines

The Philippines is home to 3 endemic Tit species! Compared with other Titmice species in Southeast Asia, those found in the Philippines are unique and more distantly related than other members of their genus. For example, the White-fronted Tit is the only member of Sittiparus in Southeast Asia, while the rest are found north from Taiwan to Japan.

Most birders are familiar with the common Elegant Tit, which is found across the Philippines (except for the Greater Palawan Area and the Batanes Islands). Occasionally, the Palawan Tit gets confused visually with the Elegant Tit, but their all-black head easily differentiates them from the Elegant Tit. These two birds also don't intersect in their ranges. What may intersect with the Elegant Tit is the much rarer White-fronted Tit found on the islands of Luzon and Mindanao. Both the White-fronted Tit and the Palawan Tit are classified as Threatened Species according to the DENR Red List.

This fun little post is a simple spotlight on these active members of mixed-species flocks, and I wanted to experiment with showcasing smaller groups of birds in a single post, hehe!