Poecile
Poecile is a genus of birds in the tit family Paridae. It contains 15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained "Poecile" as a subgenus within the genus "Parus", but treatment as a distinct genus, initiated by the American Ornithologists Union, is now widely accepted. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome "b" sequence analysis. The genus "Poecile" was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The type species was subsequently designated as the marsh tit ("Poecile palustris") by English zoologist  George Robert Gray in 1842. The name "Poecile" is from Ancient Greek "poikilos" "colourful". A related word "poikilidos" denoted an unidentified small bird. It has traditionally been treated as feminine (giving name endings such as "cincta"); however, this was not specified by the original genus author Johann Jakob Kaup, and under the ICZN the genus name must therefore be treated by default as masculine, giving name endings such as "cinctus". Species. The genus includes the following fifteen species: