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Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

It is almost impossible to see one Long-tailed Tit without seeing another; and for most of the year, between June and February, one would be unlikely to see only two. For the Long-tailed Tit is a highly sociable species, living in groups with strong and significant ties. Moreover, Long-tailed Tit flocks tend to attract other species, too, that join them in roaming deciduous woods, scrub and hedgerows.

At the end of the breeding season the young of Long-tailed Tits don’t leave the territory of their parents as most small birds do, but remain alongside them into the winter; hence the flocks. Together parents and progeny hold a group territory, and they may be joined by some of the unattached blood relatives of the adult male, who help defend it. As the season progresses things change slightly: the young males remain with their parents, but the females leave for neighbouring flocks, sometimes defecting during skirmishes between the two, and others come in. At night in colder weather, all members of the flock may sit on one branch and huddle together in bodily contact, something that very few other birds do.

Once spring arrives the flock splits up into its constituent pairs, senior adults and male progeny with their new partners; each pair selects a nest site within the borders of the winter territory. For up to a month in March and April, the pairs construct a remarkable domed nest with an entrance to the side. It is mainly made up of moss and bound into shape by thousands of strands of cobweb, which make it flexible enough to expand with the size of the nestlings. On the outside the nest is camouflaged with lichens, and the inside is stuffed with 800-2500 feathers, possibly usually obtained from the corpses of birds. The nest is placed in two possible, puzzlingly different locations: either low down in a dense bush, preferably thorny; or 10-20m up in the fork of a tree.

When the young hatch they are brooded by the female and fed by both parents; but that isn’t the whole story of their care. At many nests there are supernumerary helpers, which bring in extra food for the young; there may be as many as 8 auxiliaries, but usually one or two. These helpers are usually, once again, blood relatives of the male bird, his siblings. Many of them are probably failed breeders, coming to promote their genetic material by proxy rather than twiddling their thumbs. The young of nests with helpers stand a much better chance of survival than nestlings with only the parents present.

The “reward” for a nest helper is a place in the winter huddle at night. Having participated in helping to rear the young, it is accepted into the winter flock. Long-tailed Tits are very small-bodied birds, and when it is cold a huddle is an important survival mechanism.

Long-tailed Tits are, in contrast to the other tits, mainly insectivorous throughout the year. They feed on a variety of small creatures, but especially butterflies and moths, feasting on adults, larvae, pupae and, with their minute bills, even the eggs.