Poecile
| Poecile | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Willow tit, Poecile montanus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Paridae |
| Genus: |
Poecile Kaup, 1829 |
| Species | |
|
13–15, see text |
|
13–15, see text
Poecile is a genus of bird in the tit family. It has 13–15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained Poecile as a subgenus within the genus Parus, but treatment as a distinct genus, initiated by the American Ornithologists Union, is now widely accepted. This is supported by mtDNA sequence analysis.
The current genus name, Poecile, is the Ancient Greek name for a now unidentifiable small bird. It has traditionally been treated as feminine (giving name endings such as cincta); however, this was not specified by the original genus author Johann Jakob Kaup, and under the ICZN the genus name must therefore be treated by default as masculine, giving name endings such as cinctus.
The genus includes the following fifteen species:
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