The sultan tit (Melanochlora sultanea) is an Asian forest bird with black upperparts plumage and yellow underparts, dark bill, and (depending on subspecies) a yellow or black crest. The sexes are similar, though the female has slightly duller plumage with greenish-black upperparts and throat. The young bird is duller than the adult and has a shorter crest. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Melanochlora, which is fairly distinct from other tits, third-basal in the family Paridae after Cephalopyrus and Sylviparus.

The male has the forehead and crown with the crest brilliant yellow (except glossy black in one subspecies); the whole upper plumage, sides of the head and neck, chin, throat, and breast-deep black glossed with green, the edges of the feathers of the upper plumage with a metallic lustre, and the outermost tail-feathers tipped with white; lower plumage from the breast downwards deep yellow, the thighs barred or mottled with white. The recumbent crest is raised when the bird is alert or alarmed.

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.

The young resemble the female, but in the youngest stage the bright edges to the plumage of the upper parts are absent, and the greater wing coverts are edged with white.

They forage in the mid and upper canopy singly or in small groups mainly and feed mainly on insects but sometimes feed on figs. Their loud calls with short repeated and variable whistling notes have a tit-like quality. The flight is slow and fluttering.

The bill is black; the mouth dark; the eyelids grey; the iris dark brown; the legs are grey; the claws dark horn. It is the largest species of tit, 20–20.5 cm (7.9–8.1 in) long; the tail is 8.2–9.9 cm (3.2–3.9 in) long; the wing 9.4–11.5 cm (3.7–4.5 in); the tarsus 2.1–2.6 cm (0.83–1.02 in); the bill from the gape 1.5–1.8 cm (0.59–0.71 in). The weight is from 34 to 49 g (1.2 to 1.7 oz).