Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

Clickhere for the bird's sound.

The small beak of the Long-tailed Tit prevents it from eating big seeds.

In all languages the name of this bird suggests that it belongs to the Tit family, but just like the Penduline Tit it does not. This attractive and lively bird can never be seen alone. It rather travels in small groups and in winter such a group will visit the food table in your garden, but irregularly and for a relatively short period of time only. In the garden the bird is not afraid of people and often you can see them in a nearby tree or bush.

Long-tailed Tits can only be seen in small family flocks.

The picture above gives you a good example of the group behavior shown by this bird. This is a group of young Long-Tailed Tits who just flew out of the nest. They sit tight together waiting for the parents to return with food. Notice the long tail: the entire bird's length is made up by the tail for almost 70%!

The Long-tailed Tit visits my feeding stand regularly, but each visit is only a short one.

This bird belongs to the family of Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalidae). It is very common in our garden and can be seen in Holland all year round. The bird is 5,5" and weighs 9 grams. It lives in woodlands, heather, parks and gardens mostly. It eats insects and spiders. The sexes do not differ from one another. No less than eight to ten eggs are laid in the nest, which is constructed in bushes in april. Breeding takes 13 days and after another 14 days the young can fly and will leave the nest.