Jim Roberts Gallery
Gorgeous Ball of Fluff
The Long-tailed Tit is an adorable, small, fluffy pinkish bird.
The shoulders and underparts are pinkish. The head has a white crown with black marks above the eyes and into the nape. They have red eye rings and a very small black bill. The black and white tail is very long, over half the length of the bird and the longest tail of any British bird in proportion to its body. The legs are black-brown. They feed mostly on insects and their larvae, and spiders, but also on berries.
The Long-tailed Tit's nest is an elastic ball of moss, spiders' webs, lichen, feathers, and hair that is built by both birds in a bush, hedge or tree; brambles and gorse are favourite places. The nest may take up to 3 weeks to build and be lined with more than 2000 feathers.
The female lays and incubates smooth and glossy eggs that are white with purplish-red spots, and are about 14 mm by 10 mm. Both adults feed the newly-hatched young, and are often assisted by other birds, especially males, that have failed to breed that season.
During the breeding seasons this species can experience wide fluctuations in numbers, underlining the role that severe winter weather may play. In extremely bad winters, numbers can fall by 80%.
It is not unusual for active nests to have additional birds present, helping the resident pair to feed and rear the chicks. These helpers are usually related to the resident birds and are likely to have lost their own brood. Although well camouflaged, many nests are lost to nest predators like crows, magpies and even weasels, the latter taking more eggs and young birds in those years when small mammals are less abundant.
www.flickriver.com/photos/jimborobbo/popular-interesting/
All my photos and images are copyrighted to me although you are welcome to use them for non commercial purposes as long as you give credit to myself.
Thank you for looking at my photographs and for any comments it is much appreciated
Gorgeous Ball of Fluff
The Long-tailed Tit is an adorable, small, fluffy pinkish bird.
The shoulders and underparts are pinkish. The head has a white crown with black marks above the eyes and into the nape. They have red eye rings and a very small black bill. The black and white tail is very long, over half the length of the bird and the longest tail of any British bird in proportion to its body. The legs are black-brown. They feed mostly on insects and their larvae, and spiders, but also on berries.
The Long-tailed Tit's nest is an elastic ball of moss, spiders' webs, lichen, feathers, and hair that is built by both birds in a bush, hedge or tree; brambles and gorse are favourite places. The nest may take up to 3 weeks to build and be lined with more than 2000 feathers.
The female lays and incubates smooth and glossy eggs that are white with purplish-red spots, and are about 14 mm by 10 mm. Both adults feed the newly-hatched young, and are often assisted by other birds, especially males, that have failed to breed that season.
During the breeding seasons this species can experience wide fluctuations in numbers, underlining the role that severe winter weather may play. In extremely bad winters, numbers can fall by 80%.
It is not unusual for active nests to have additional birds present, helping the resident pair to feed and rear the chicks. These helpers are usually related to the resident birds and are likely to have lost their own brood. Although well camouflaged, many nests are lost to nest predators like crows, magpies and even weasels, the latter taking more eggs and young birds in those years when small mammals are less abundant.
www.flickriver.com/photos/jimborobbo/popular-interesting/
All my photos and images are copyrighted to me although you are welcome to use them for non commercial purposes as long as you give credit to myself.
Thank you for looking at my photographs and for any comments it is much appreciated