Its previous assignment to the family Remizidae was not entirely satisfactory, as this species nests in hollows in trees, as do the true tits and chickadees (Paridae), so it was placed there.

The wings are the same color as the tail, but with olive-yellow edging larger or smaller on all blankets and feathers.

Chest, belly and flanks show a yellow lemon, contrasting with the gray of the thighs, anal area and the underside of the tail.

The chin and upper throat are orange chrome, melting into golden yellow chest.

[3] Outside the breeding season, the female is not very different from her partner, although the upper parts (including the cheeks, brow and sides of the neck) are olive-green gray.

The chest is yellow-tinged olive, the upper sides and belly are pale yellow tinged.

The top of the lower parts (chin and throat chest) olive-yellow contrasts sharply with the belly and anal area whitish yellow.

When singing, the male flies or sits on a high well-exposed spot like the top of a tree.

It consists of a series of rapid, high notes, forming well-constructed sentences: "pit'su-pit'su-pit'su-pit'su".

Most of the time, these groups, flying high above the bare hills, are monotypic, but they sometimes join mixed flocks when foraging.

It seeks its food higher up in large trees, but also sometimes in the bushes close to the ground.

It is rather agile, adopting acrobatic positions, upside down, or sliding along vertical branches like parrots.

[3] The fire-capped tit feeds largely on insects but also leaves, flowers, buds and probably pollen and sap.

It prefers temperate rainforest and mixed deciduous forest with oak, hazel, elm and walnut, just below the conifer belt.

In the far east of the breeding range, seasonal migration is less pronounced, and in Sichuan and Burma the birds remain during the winter at relatively high altitudes, around 1800 meters.