Ground Tit - Ecology

Ecology

It occurs across the Tibetan Plateau of China and the neighboring areas of western Sichuan and Gansu. The Tibetan Ground-tit inhabits open alpine steppe and sometimes more arid regions with small scattered shrubs, rarely if ever occurring lower than 3,000 meters above sea level. It is not found anywhere where dense vegetation (especially trees) predominates. The flight of this bird is not strong and it flies low over the ground preferring to run or jump out of the way if approached which it does very quickly. It moves on the ground in unpredictable hops and bounces which can be quite long – jumps of three times the bird's length are achieved without assistance by the wings – rather than striding or running like Podoces ground jays. Observers have compared the sight of a Tibetan Ground-tit moving along to a small greyish-brown rubber ball.

It obtains food on the ground, eating a wide range of arthropod prey, often obtained by probing Yak (Bos grunniens) dung and turning it over to flush the prey out. It also peers into rock crevices and into holes in the ground in its search for food. Individuals have been observed to poke mud in and near puddles like Hoopoes (Upupa epops); in general the bill is used extensively used for digging, much like the similarly-shaped one of the Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax). If chased by a bird of prey or other predator, it will bolt straight down the nearest hole like a rodent until the danger has passed. They are frequently found near colonies of pikas (Ochotona). Though the birds and the mammals probably benefit from each others' vigilance, their association is probably less due to a strong mutualism but rather because both prefer habitat with similar ground cover and soil.

The nest is rather unusual for that of a passerine, being built inside a burrow which the birds excavate themselves. It is usually dug horizontally into a bank or wall of earth, and can reach a depth of 1.8 meters. The nest is placed at the end of this in a small chamber and consists usually just of bit of wool placed onto a grass base. The 4–6 eggs are pure white and the young stay with their parents for some time after fledging; half-grown young are still fed by their parents on occasion as late as August.

The Ground Tit is not a migratory bird but may descend lower altitudes in valleys during the winter. In addition to digging nesting burrows, ground-tits frequently dig roosting burrows to use during the coldest months.