This species is made up of several populations that were earlier treated as subspecies of the great tit (Parus major).

The cinereous tit was formally described in 1818 by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot under the binomial name Parus cinereus.

[10] The upper tail coverts are ashy while the tail is black with the central 4 pairs of feathers ashy on the outer webs and all but the central pair are tipped white.

[14][15] These birds are usually seen in pairs or small groups that sometimes join mixed-species foraging flocks.

[16] They forage mainly by gleaning, capturing insects (mainly caterpillars, bugs and beetles) that are disturbed and will also feeding on buds and fruits.

They may also wedge hard seeds in a bark crevice before hammering them with their beak (noted in ssp.

In southern India and Sri Lanka the breeding season is February to May (mainly before the Monsoons) but nests have also been seen from September to November.

The nests are placed in hollows in trees or in a wall or mud-bank with a narrow entrance hole and the floor of the cavity is lined with moss, hair and feathers.