Caspian tit

{{Short description|Species of bird}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Poecile hyrcanus 122184675.jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Poecile hyrcanus |volume=2016 |page=e.T103761508A104117340 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103761508A104117340.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}

| genus = Poecile

| species = hyrcanus

| authority = Zarudny & Loudon, 1905

| synonyms = Parus hyrcanus

}}

The Caspian tit (Poecile hyrcanus) is a passerine bird in the tit family. It breeds in the deciduous mountain forests of northern Iran, just extending into Azerbaijan.

The {{cvt|12.5|cm}} long Caspian tit has a dark brown cap and bib, rich brown upperparts and underparts which are pinkish-buff when fresh, but become paler and greyer as the feathers age. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are somewhat duller. The most common call of this generally quiet bird is a thin zsit, but a nasal double note, chev chev, is also given.

Both sexes excavate the nesting hole in a live or a rotten tree.{{cite web | last1=del Hoyo | first1=J. | last2=Collar | first2=N. | last3=Kirwan | first3=G.M. | year=2020 | title=Caspian Tit (Poecile hyrcanus) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | url=https://www.hbw.com/node/1343867 | access-date=17 April 2020 | url-access=subscription }} Most nests examined are cups of felted material, such as fur, hair and wood chips, but feathers are sometimes used. The number of eggs varies from five to seven, white with faint reddish spots or blotches. It feeds on caterpillars, insects and seeds, much like other tits.

Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the Caspian tit is sister to the willow tit (Poecile montanus).{{Cite journal | last1=Johansson | first1=Ulf S. | last2=Ekman | first2=Jan | last3=Bowie | first3=Rauri C. K. | last4=Halvarsson | first4=Peter | last5=Ohlson | first5=Jan I. | last6=Price | first6=Trevor D. | last7=Ericson | first7=Per G. P. | date=2013 | title=A complete multilocus species phylogeny of the tits and chickadees (Aves: Paridae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=69 | issue=3 | pages=852–860 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.019| pmid=23831453 | bibcode=2013MolPE..69..852J }}{{Cite journal | last1=Tritsch | first1=Christian | last2=Martens | first2=Jochen | last3=Sun | first3=Yue-Hua | last4=Heim | first4=Wieland | last5=Strutzenberger | first5=Patrick | last6=Päckert | first6=Martin | date=2017 | title=Improved sampling at the subspecies level solves a taxonomic dilemma – A case study of two enigmatic Chinese tit species (Aves, Passeriformes, Paridae, Poecile) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=107 | pages=538–550 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.014| pmid=27965081 | bibcode=2017MolPE.107..538T }}