Long-Tailed Tit

Quick Take

• These tiny birds build one of the most elaborate nests in the avian world, a feat that involves a genuinely surprising number of materials. See the intricate nest →
• Long-tailed tits have a survival trick for brutal winters that has nothing to do with migration, and it turns out to be more social than you'd expect. Explore winter survival behavior →
• When a breeding pair loses their chicks, a surprising third party steps in, though their motive turns out to be more complex than simple altruism. Discover cooperative breeding →
• This bird goes by a collection of bizarre alternative names that hint at just how distinctive its appearance really is. See the alternative names →

Long-tailed tits are frequent visitors to gardens and parks in the United Kingdom, where they are abundant. These small, fluffy birds delight visitors with their adorable looks and sweet, cheerful songs. The chief identification marks are their round bodies and white plumage. Most long-tailed tits also have pale pink or lilac on their breasts and wings. They are insectivores that do not migrate in winter.

Where To Find Long-Tailed Tits

Long-tailed tits are found across the UK, including throughout most of Scotland, though they are absent from the far north and west of Scotland. Their range extends broadly across Europe and into Japan and China. They inhabit farmland, heathland, moorland, and wetlands. In recent years, their preferred habitat has become towns and cities, where they often visit hedgerows, suburban gardens, and city parks.

They are not migratory. In the winter, they form large flocks that include other tit species.

Long-tailed tits have been listed among the top 10 most spotted garden birds in the United Kingdom, reaching 10th place as early as 2009, with garden recording rates remaining steady at around 15% of gardens. Mild winters and the widespread use of backyard bird feeders have contributed to their continued presence in garden bird surveys.

How to see long-tailed tits

They are friendly birds who will eat seeds, especially in the winter when their preferred food is scarce. Bird lovers can easily attract them to a backyard habitat. Use clean, well-kept feeders stocked with crushed peanuts and sunflower seeds. They are enjoyable to watch because they will flit from tree to tree and sometimes hang upside down to feed.

Because they build dense, warm nests, it is also a good idea to put out nesting materials in the spring. They can use feathers, grass clippings, dead leaves, and moss.

Classification and Scientific Name

The long-tailed tit’s scientific name is Aegithalos caudatus.

The tit family, Paridae, has around 55 to 62 species of small birds, which are known as tits, titmice, and chickadees. They are small songbirds of the order Passeriformes. They live in forests, shrubby woodlands, urban parks, and suburban gardens.

In Europe, the long-tailed tit is sometimes called the European tit or alpine tit. Other names for this bird are the long-tailed pie, mumruffin, bottle tit, bum barrel, bum towel, ovenbird, and hedge jug.

Appearance

The long-tailed tit is a small, fluffy bird with a black cap, white collar, and black-and-white feathers. Their chief identification markers are their round bodies, long tails, and soft pink or lilac feathers.

Many tits can be difficult to identify because they look alike. However, the long-tailed tit is easier to identify than other family members because of its long tail and pink coloring.

True to its name, this bird has a tail that is longer than its body. It has distinct black stripes around its eyes. The pink colors can extend to the entire breast and wing. Males and females look alike and have the same colors. It is a small bird with a length of six inches, including its long tail, and a wingspan of 5.5 inches. It weighs about 0.35 ounces.

Behavior

These birds are active in the daytime. They begin hunting in the morning, and they spend the day catching small insects to eat. At dusk, they return to their roosts or nests.

Long-tailed tits are not migratory, and this makes them susceptible to harsh winters. When chilly weather arrives, they form flocks of birds that nest and huddle together on tree branches. Some of these groups have as few as three members, but they can sometimes have 20 to 30.

These mixed flocks often include other members of the titmouse and chickadee families. They do this to keep warm. These small birds lose a lot of energy hunting all day, and they huddle together to share their body heat.

In the spring, the groups break up, and the birds go off on their own to mate, build nests, and rear their young. They are known for hovering extensively in search of the perfect nesting site. They hover vertically as they identify a good nesting site.

Migration Pattern and Timing

Long-tailed tits do not migrate, and cold temperatures are one of the chief threats to their survival. A particularly harsh winter can cause many long-tailed tit deaths. They make up for this loss by increasing the number of eggs they produce, and this has kept their population stable.

Song

The long-tailed tit has a particularly pretty song. It is high-pitched and sweet, and it is punctuated by frequent purring notes that sound like, “Prrt, prrt, prrt.”

Diet

The long-tailed tit is an omnivore that mostly eats insects.

What does the long-tailed tit eat?

It eats the eggs and larvae of moths and butterflies. It will also eat spiders and aphids. In the autumn and winter, it supplements its diet with a range of seeds.

Predators and Threats

Long-tailed tits are highly sensitive to extreme cold, and many do not survive a harsh winter. They make up for this by increased breeding.

What eats the long-tailed tit?

Their chief predators are blue jays and crows, which attack long-tailed tit nests to eat their chicks. The nests of long-tailed tits have a high predation rate. Falcons sometimes eat adult long-tailed tits.

Reproduction, Babies, and Lifespan

When the winter flock breaks up, a male long-tailed tit will mate with a female from the same flock. They immediately begin looking for a nesting site and building the nest. They have a limited range and stay close to their roosting spot.

After mating, the female lays her eggs in the nest. A long-tailed tit can lay from six to 15 eggs, but typically lays eight to 12. The eggs are small and have reddish spots. After 12 to 18 days, the eggs hatch. Both the parents and some helper birds share feeding duties. The chicks become fledglings after around 14–21 days. They are ready to fly on their own from about three months. These birds typically live two to three years in the wild.

Nests

The long-tailed tit builds its nest in the fork of a tree. The nest is oval, and both parents help to build it. They start building in February and spend about three weeks constructing it. A long-tailed tit nest has many layers, and the birds use moss, hair, spider webs, feathers, and lichens. They may use up to 2,000 feathers to line it and moss to camouflage the nest from predators.

It is common for long-tailed tits to invite other birds to help them raise and feed their chicks. These helper birds are usually related to the breeding pair, and some are birds who have lost their babies to predators. They also help protect the nest from predators. Males and females can be nest sitters.

Population

The exact population of long-tailed tits is not known, but recent estimates suggest there are around 380,000 breeding pairs in the United Kingdom. The population is considered stable, and long-tailed tits are among the few birds whose population in the United Kingdom has grown in recent years.

Conservation Status

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), BirdLife International, and the BTO all list the long-tailed tit as a “species of least concern.’ Its population is considered stable and reasonably abundant.

Popular Backyard Birds

Long-tailed tits are lovely birds that help control insect populations. Their popularity at backyard garden feeders has helped them thrive despite predators and harsh winters. Conservation efforts will benefit all birds and ensure we can enjoy them for many years to come.