Breeding pairs: 340,000 territories
Family: Long-Tailed Tits
The long-tailed tit has a black upper mantle and a pink rump mottled with black and white. The upperwing coverts are black, with the greater coverts edged in white. Its underparts are pinkish with fine black streaks, transitioning to a paler belly. The tail is black with white edges.
On the head, the cheeks, chin, and throat are pink with a faint black wash. The crown is predominantly black, extending down to the eyes and the nape, with a wide pink band running through the centre of the crown.
The bill is short and black, the eyes are black with red eyelids, and the legs and feet are also black.
Male and female long-tailed tits are similar.
Juveniles are darker overall compared to adults. They have a dusky face and crown centre, a white forehead, and a shorter, dark brown tail.
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Long-tailed tits breed from March to June, producing one brood per season. They form pair bonds in late winter or early spring, breaking away from their flocks. During courtship, the male performs flight displays, fluttering his wings and fanning his tail to attract a mate.
The nest is typically built in a thorny bush, such as bramble or gorse, or in the fork of a tree around three metres above the ground. Both male and female work together over the course of about a month to construct the nest. It is a dome-shaped structure skilfully woven from moss and spider webs and covered in lichen to provide camouflage. Inside, it is lined with up to 1,500 downy feathers for insulation. Unfortunately, these nests suffer a high predation rate, with only 17% succeeding.
The female lays 6–15 white eggs speckled with red, which she incubates for 12–18 days while being fed by the male. Once hatched, the chicks are cared for by both parents and leave the nest after 14–18 days. Long-tailed tits reach sexual maturity at one year of age.
Long-tailed tits primarily feed on insects, spiders, and the larvae of moths and butterflies. During the winter months, when these are less abundant, they supplement their diet with seeds, buds, and occasionally sap.
In winter, they are also frequent visitors to gardens, searching for nuts, seeds, and fat. They often travel in extended family groups, moving in a characteristic “follow my leader” fashion. Long-tailed tits may also join mixed flocks with other small birds.
Long-tailed tits can be found throughout the UK except the very north and east of Scotland. They can be seed in woodland, hedgerows, scrubland, parks and gardens. During winter they will form flocks with other species of tits.
If a long-tailed tit’s nest fails, they may not attempt to re-nest. Instead, they become helpers at the nest of a related breeding pair, increasing the chances of the chicks’ survival. Younger birds may also assist breeding pairs in raising their young, contributing to the success of the brood.
