Hume's Ground Tit
Pseudopodoces humilis

The former Tibetan Groundpecker or Hume's Ground Jay was previously classified as a member of the Crow family Corvidae. With improved DNA analyses it was removed from the family and placed into the Tit family Paridae. It is the only Tit in the world that lives in a habitat with no trees. As for many bird species in meager habitats, they live in family groups and some of the young and subadult males skip breeding in favour of helping their parents out with their reproduction and brood care. In the common language in Tibet the Hume's Ground Tit is called "the wife of the Pika", pointing out that they may breed in the burrows made by this small mammal. However, they normally excavate their own holes in the ground sediments.

This bird was photographed some hours drive from Lhasa, in Tibet, China during late September 2004, where the species was fairly common. The lower picture shows the typical habitat of Hume's Ground Tits in Tibet.