Remizidae

Remizidae, the penduline tits, is a family of small passerine birds related to the true tits, comprising 11 species in three genera: Remiz, Anthoscopus and Auriparus. The genus Remiz ranges discontinuously from Portugal and northern Morocco through Siberia to Japan, Anthoscopus occupies sub-Saharan Africa, and the verdin, in Auriparus, lives in the arid southwestern United States and northern Mexico. These are diminutive birds, 7.5 to 11 centimeters long, with finer, more needle-like bills than true tits, short rounded wings and short notched tails, typically colored in pale greys and yellows and white, though some species show black, chestnut, bright yellow or red markings. Most penduline tits build elaborate bag nests hanging from trees, usually over water, which gives the family its name, while the verdin instead builds a domed nest of thorny twigs; the birds feed mainly on insects and spend most of the year in small flocks.