[7] The female has the yellow parts duller; the upper plumage and sides of the head dark greenish-brown; the chin and throat glossed dark olive-green; wings and tail dull black; the feathers of the upper plumage edged with metallic green.

[10] Remizidae Cephalopyrus flammiceps Sylviparus modestus Melanochlora sultanea Pardaliparus Periparus Baeolophus Lophophanes Sittiparus Poecile Cyanistes Pseudopodoces Parus monticolus Parus major Machlolophus Melaniparus In 1890, Richard Bowdler Sharpe considered this species as a member of the former subfamily Liotrichinae within the Timaliidae.

[16] Four subspecies are recognized with the nominate sultanea (Hodgson, 1837) found from Central Nepal into the eastern Himalayas extending into North-eastern Bangladesh,[17] Myanmar, northern Thailand and Southern China.

Race seorsa[18] (with dark shaft streaks in the crest) is found in Laos and parts of southeastern China (Guangxi, Fujian) and in its northern range intergrades with sultanea.

[22] The breeding season in India is April to July and the clutch is of five to seven eggs laid inside a lined tree cavity.

[7][24] Widely distributed within suitable habitats throughout its large range, the Sultan Tit is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.