Green-backed Tit

The green-backed tit is a colourful montane songbird 11–13 cm long. It has a black head with large white cheek patches, bright yellow underparts divided by a black central stripe and a green back. Two narrow white wing bars help distinguish it from the similar Japanese tit, which has a single broader bar. Females resemble males but have a slightly narrower black belly stripe. Birds forage energetically in the middle and upper forest levels (eBird species account; Wang et al. 2021).

The species ranges from the Himalayas through southwestern China and Myanmar to Vietnam, where separate forms occur in the northwest and on the Đà Lạt Plateau. It inhabits montane coniferous, broadleaved and mixed forest, often joining mixed-species flocks. Diet includes insects, larvae, seeds, berries, buds and fruit. It nests in cavities; research in southwestern China and Guizhou found clutches mainly of four to seven eggs and incubation lasting 14–15 days (BirdForum species account; Wang et al. 2021; Liu et al. 2025).