very interesting.
But I initially thought that the one occuring in Guangdong was the nominate cinereus and that commixtus was north of Guangdong, in Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangxi.
My own experience of what I think are commixtus from Hunan and Guangxi is that all this birds are showing some greenish on upper mantle and lower neck of different amount depending on different population, where all the Cinereous Tit I'm seeing in Guangdong show an entire grey blue mantle without any hint of green.
So could this bird not be a commixtus from one of this more colored form of commixtus
rather than minor?
During a recent trip in Leizhou peninsular with Richard Lewthwaite,
I notice that some bird there, for the few one we've check carrefully was showing a small amount of green on lower neck and upper mantle suggesting that the Guangdong form is intergrading with this commixtus. This ofcourse suggest that commixtus belong to cinereus rather than minor.
Jabouille on the paper he published after his staying in the Zhangjiang area allredy notice this intermediate form.
My opinion is that commixtus have to be taking into
consideration.
Many year ago in north east Hunan I remember having seen a bird that was much more colored than the other local one, a bit more yellowish rather than cream on the underparts and more bright green ans blue on the upperparts that to me was a Japanese Tit. I think the difference should be more obvious even I have no experience with Japanese Tit from breeding ground.
A very interesting subject but rather unclear in South China.
All the best,
Jonathan
