Père David's tit
species of passerine bird
Père David's tit or the rusty-breasted tit (Poecile davidi) is a species of bird in the tit family Paridae. It is endemic to central China in southern Gansu, western Hubei, southern Shaanxi and Sichuan.
It is 12–13 centimetres (4.7–5.1 in) long with a weight of 10–12.5 grams (0.35–0.44 oz), and is similar to the related sombre tit (P. lugubris) in appearance, with a black head with white cheeks, dark grey-brown back, wings and tail, and rusty brown underparts.
Its natural breeding habitat is subalpine forests at 2,135–3,400 m altitude, mostly resident but higher altitude birds descending a little in winter to below 3,050 metres (10,010 ft).
References
Notes
Sources
Bangs, Outram (1932). Birds of Western China Obtained by the Kelly-Roosevelts Expedition. Field Museum of Natural History Publication 314, Zoological Series. Vol. XVIII. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History. pp.
“Père David's tit” enters the record as species of passerine bird. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Père, David's and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Père David's tit” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Père, David's and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1588129. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1932.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Père David's tit”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Père David's tit primary sources, Père David's tit archive and Père research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Père David's tit”?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Père David's tit” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.