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Birds
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Birds |
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Aegithalos caudatus - Long-tailed TitA shy bird of hedgerows and copses, the long-tailed tit is a very social bird. At times in winter you will see and hear colonies of two or three dozen of these tiny tits, with their disproportionately long white-edged tails, working their way along the edge of a wood, searching for insects. They are noisy, energetic birds.
The pink-tinged body of this pretty little bird has a fluffy, somewhat untidy appearance - male and female being very similar in appearance, 15cm long and with a typical wingspan of 18cm. (There is also a northern race of long-tailed tits with all-white heads.)
Long-tailed tits build their nests in bushes, using moss, wool, feathers and spiders' webs to create a deep dome with a tiny side entrance. As many as two thousand individual feathers have been counted from one long-tailed tit nest. A dozen chicks is a typical brood. Early nests, built before the leaves are fully out, are often robbed by jays and magpies. Insects are the main source of food for these resident titmice. |
