Largest titmouse

The world's largest species of titmouse or tit is the sultan tit Melanochlora sultanea, which is up to 17 cm long, meaning that it is much bigger than other members of the titmouse family, Paridae. Native to southern and southeastern Asia, including India, the central Himalayas, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, southern China, Malaysia, Laos, and Vietnam, it is famous for its large crest and the adult male's very distinctive black and yellow plumage (yellowish-green in the female). It feeds principally upon insects, but will also eat figs.

Owing to its very large size and very different appearance from all other titmouse species, the sultan tit was originally classified as a babbler, within the taxonomic family Timaliidae, and it does possess certain unexpected genetic and behavioural differences from titmice too. Nevertheless, it is traditionally and still most commonly housed within their family, especially if the penduline tits are also included.

It was formally described in 1837, exists as four separate subspecies, and, happily, is not an endangered species.