Morphological identification and distribution of the White-crowned Penduline Tit in China

Prior to 2018, known distribution of the White-crowned Penduline Tit (Remiz coronatus) in China was limited to Xinjiang and northern Ningxia．The emergence of Chinese bird-watchers has resulted in more records of the bird in Gansu, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia．However, the similar morphology of White-crowned Penduline Tit and Chinese Penduline Tit (R. consobrinus) often prevents accurate identification of these 2 species in the field, misidentification occasionally occurred．Morphological characteristics of White-crowned Penduline Tit and differences from Chinese Penduline Tit were described in this work in detail．Distribution status of White-crowned Penduline Tit in China was summarized: the nominate subspecies is a summer visitor in northwest Xinjiang, the stoliczkae subspecies is a summer visitor in northern Xinjiang, a winter visitor in southern Xinjiang, a summer visitor and wintering visitor in Ningxia, and a wintering visitor in Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi．