The long-tailed tit is a delightful small, rotund tit with a long narrow black tail with white edges. The wings and upperparts are black, but the wing feathers are edged with white. The long-tailed tit’s head is white with a broad black band that sweeps back over the eye like an eyebrow. The underparts are white dusted with pink, as are the feathers under the tail. It is the pale pink colour which catches the eye as these busy, hyperactive little birds fly-by, often in small family groups, searching for food. During frantic feeding excursions their chatty contact call, a sharp clicking ‘pt’ or ‘zepp’, can frequently be heard.

Behaviour

Long-tailed tits are largely resident breeders in deciduous and mixed woodland. They prefer low-lying woodland and hedgerows and can form large groups in June and July following nesting.  In winter, long-tailed tits will often flock with other tit species and are regular visitors to garden feeders, especially suet balls from which they can easily extract small berries and seeds with their tiny black bills. By huddling up close with the other members of the flock, they minimise the amount of heat they lose. It is a brilliant and sociable adaptation.

Long-tailed tits build a domed nest out of moss in a bush or the fork of a tree. The nests are basically a large pouch with a small entrance hole towards the top. They can take up to three weeks to make. They are made by using moss, lichen, feathers and spider silk, the latter being used to glue all components together. The nest is lined with as many as 1,500-2000 down feathers to make it soft for the tit’s eight to ten eggs. However, nests frequently fail at the egg stage; the failure rate being as high as 85%.

Size

• Body length: 14cm
• Tail length: 8-9cm
• Wingspan 16-18cm
• Weight: 7-10g
• Average Lifespan: 2 years

Status

Classified in the UK as Green under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Distribution

The long-tailed tit appears to have been widespread in Scotland since the late 18th century and is still resident throughout the country, except in highland areas with extensive moorlands, the far west and the north. In October and November, long-tailed tits may even be rare visiting migrants to the Shetlands and Orkneys. In fact, Scotland is on the edge of the species’ range, but with a move to afforest land with higher proportions of deciduous trees and a predominance of milder winters, the trend is for the range to expand.

When to see

All year round.

Facts

• The long-tailed tit is not a typical tit, in fact it isn’t actually a tit at all! It is actually more closely related to the babblers of India and South-east Asia than it is to the blue tits and great tits that we associate it with.
• Long-tailed tits differ from most other birds in that they maintain their sociability during the nesting period. Individual pairs will attempt to rear their own young, but if they fail, they will help at the nest of a close relative instead – a process known as cooperative breeding. The term ‘breeding unit’ is more appropriate, as they may amalgamate to form flocks of 30 or more which helps improve the survival rate of young.
• Long-tailed tits often weigh less than a £1 coin!