C. caeruleus C. teneriffae C. cyanus Cyanistes is a genus of birds in the tit family Paridae.

In 2005 an article describing a molecular phylogenetic study that had examined mitochondrial DNA sequences from members of the tit family, proposed that a number of subgenera including Cyanistes be elevated to genus status.

[3] The genus contains three species:[2] The name Cyanistes was introduced for a subgenus by the German naturalist Jakob Kaup in 1829.

[4] The word comes from the classical Greek kuanos meaning dark-blue.

[5] The type species was designated as the Eurasian blue tit by George Gray in 1842.