Grey Tit (Melaniparus afer)

Cover image of Grey Tit by Felicity Ellmore – Vredendal district, Western Cape

The Grey Tit is a member of the Family PARIDAE (Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice). They are mainly small, stocky, woodland species with short, stout bills. Some species have crests. Overall, the Paridae are very similar in general morphology. They are mostly adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects. Most tits live in forested habitats, from boreal coniferous forests in the north to humid tropical forests in the south. A small number occupy desert scrub and other arid habitats. All species require cavities in which to nest. This family comprises 62 species from 13 genera. 7 species occur in southern Africa.

Identification

The Grey Tit…

Sexes Alike. A misleading name, not as grey as Ashy Tit (with which it marginally overlaps). Has buff (not dark grey) flanks and underparts, brownish (not blue-grey) back and less white on the hind neck. Juv. Similar to adult, head slightly brownish black, wing feathers tinged pale yellow-buff.

Grey Tit Southern Grey Tit. In adultmales Crown, lores, upper cheeks and nape glossy blue-black. Broad buffy white band from base of bill across cheeks and ear coverts to sides of neck. Patch at centre of hind neck and edge of upper mantle buffy white; remainder of mantle, and scapulars and rump dark greyish brown. Tail blackish brown, central 2 pairs of rectrices with narrow buffy white fringes; remainder with broad buffy white fringes, outermost pair with broad buffy white outer edges. Flight feathers dark grey-brown, outer webs fringed pale greyish buff; tertials more broadly edged greyish buff, tipped buffy white. Upper wing coverts mostly dark grey-brown. Primary coverts narrowly edged greyish buff, greater and median coverts broadly edged and tipped greyish buff. Lower cheeks, chin, throat, and sides of foreneck black, colour extending as ‘V’-shaped bib to upper belly. Sides of breast and flanks pinkish buff. Bill black. Eyes dark brown. Legs and feet grey.

Females As male, but cap more sooty black, less glossy; throat brownish black, bib slightly smaller.

Juveniles As ad, but cap slightly brownish black, back browner, primaries and secondaries with pale yellow-buff edge

The grey Tit is quite similar to the Ashy Tit has hind neck white (not buffy white), back bluish grey (not grey-brown), and flanks grey (not pinkish buff).

Status and Distribution

The Fairly common in semi-arid shrublands, uncommon in arid regions. Endemic, resident.

Endemic. From sw Namibia, N and W Cape, east across Nama Karoo to sw Free State, E Cape and Lesotho highlands.

Uncommon in arid areas; fairly common in more mesic parts of range.

Not threatened.

Habitat

The Grey Tit inhabits dry woodland along seasonal rivers, dwarf shrubland, strandveld and farmyards. Also hills and valleys containing remnant patches of renosterveld, and monoculture croplands.

Behaviour

The Cape Penduline Tit is resident and locally nomadic in response to rainfall. It is most often found in small family groups of up to 8 birds, rarely more. It is occasionally found in pairs. Groups are smallest in the non-breeding season.

Cape Penduline Tits roost in the nest, sometimes also in old Southern Masked Weaver nests. During the breeding season, 4 to 8 birds may roost in 1 nest. After breeding, up to 18 birds may roost in a single nest.

Cape Penduline Tits forage in family groups, venturing up to 1.5 km from the roost nest. They forage among the branches of shrubs and trees, gleaning insects from leaves, twigs, and bark. They occasionally hang upside down to access hard-to-reach places. The Cape Penduline Tit probes galls and searches spider webs. Large food items are held with 1 foot and torn into smaller pieces.

The diet consists of insects like beetles and caterpillars, including their eggs and larvae, as well as spiders. They also consume small fruits, including those of honey-thorns (Lycium spp).

In the winter rainfall zone of the Western Cape province, egg-laying has been recorded from July to November but extends from September to March across the rest of its range. The Cape Penduline Tit breeds in response to rainfall. The Cape Penduline Tit is monogamous and nests solitarily. They are facultative cooperative breeders. The nest is built by both sexes and takes around 1 month to construct. Following nest destruction by a predator or severe weather, a replacement nest may be constructed.

The nest is an oval bag, made from plant down, especially the pappuses of Asclepiadaceae, Karoo rosemary/Kapokbos (Eriocephalus spp) and the Camphor Bush Tarchonanthus camphoratus, as well as the fur of hares and the wool of Angora goats and sheep. It is bound together with spider webs. The outside is sometimes decorated with spider egg capsules. The nest is usually whitish, but may be almost black where Karakul and Nama sheep occur, or a patchwork of white, brown and black wool. Near the top is a soft and collapsible entrance spout, below which is a small, curved ledge, used as perch by the incoming bird as it opens the entrance spout with 1 foot. The opening closes automatically, forming a roof over the ledge which creates a ‘false entrance’ to deceive predators. The nest is usually attached at the top and sides with spider web to thin branches inside a thorny tree or shrub. In the Karoo, the nest is usually situated 1 to 3 m above the ground, but up to 7m high in other regions.

4 to 7 plain white eggs are laid per clutch at daily intervals. The incubation period lasts up to 15 days and is done by both sexes. Newly hatched young are altricial, and the nestling period lasts for up to 22 days. The young are fed by both parents and 1 or 2 helpers. Fledglings from the first brood roost in the nest at night along with the eggs and young of the second brood. The Cape Penduline Tit is frequently double-brooded.

Further Resources

This species text is adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Alan Manson, John Todd, Lance Robinson, Rick Nuttall, Roy Earle, Ryan Tippett, Tino Herselman, and Tony Archer is acknowledged.

Other common names: Kaapse kapokvoël (Afrikaans); Unogushana, Unothoyi (Xhosa); Rémiz minute (French); Kaapse Kapokmees (Dutch); Weißstirn-Beutelmeise (German); Pássaro-do-algodão do Cabo (Portuguese).

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2026. Grey Tit Melaniparus afer. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2026/08/12/cape-penduline-tit-anthoscopus-minutus/

A list of bird species in this format is available here.

Bird identification, birding