Wednesday 5 February 2014

Crested Tit - Scotland Day 3

The N.I.O.C. group were all excited on day 3 of our Scotland trip as we were headed to Loch Garten in the hope that we should see the Crested Tit and sure enough we did.

The European Crested Tit, (Lophophanes cristatus), is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in coniferous forests throughout central and northern Europe and in deciduous woodland in France and the Iberian peninsula. 

In Great Britain, it is chiefly restricted to the Caledonian pine forests and Scots pine plantations. of Inverness and Strathspey in Scotland, and seldom strays far from its haunts.


It is an easy tit to recognise, for besides its erectile crest, the tip of which is often recurved, its gorget and collar are distinctive. It is, like other tits, talkative, and birds keep up a constant zee, zee, zee.


Length: 12 cm    Wingspan: 18 cm       Weight: M/F: 12 g  


Typical food items, this will vary depending on availability; may also take other items occasionally Diet: Mostly insects, spiders, winter, also plant material esp. conifer seeds, will cache food.


Nesting

The nest is built by the female in a hole excavated in rotten wood, for example: stump of a tree, or partly dead tree. The nest cup is made from moss and lichen, lined with hair, wool and spiders' webs.


Nest boxes filled with sawdust and wood shavings are sometimes used.


Breeding

Egg Size: 16 x 13 mm  Egg Weight: 1.3 g (of which 6 % is shell).    
Clutch Size: 5 - 6 eggs.

The smooth, glossy eggs are white with purplish-red speckles and blotches.


 Incubation: 13- 16 days by the female


 Fledgling: 20 - 25 days          


After fledgling, they become independent after another 3 weeks.


After the breeding season, Crested Tits often form social groups, sometimes with other species such as Coal Tits and Goldcrests.


Age at First Breeding: 1 year Life expectancy of a bird reaching breeding age.
Typical Lifespan: 2 years.


Maximum Recorded Age: 7 years 11 months 20 days (set in 1997)  
BTO Ringing Data.


Conservation Status: AMBER

I hope you enjoyed seeing this little bird as much as I did.

Thanks you for visiting and leaving comments on any of my blogs.

I am linking this blog with WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

25 comments:

  1. Nice set of pics Margaret, I've been to Scotland lots of times but have to confess, I have not yet seen a Crested Tit, well done you.
    All the best Gordon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is a cute bird with the crest! Lovely photos, Margaret!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great photos and post on the the Crested Tit - so glad you saw them. We went up to Scotland years ago and they were one of my target species but sadly we never saw any not even at Loch Garten!

    ReplyDelete
  4. A splendid little bird, that I completely failed to see on my one attempt many years ago! It will be a while before I get another chance!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  5. You did get some lovely shots of this bird Margaret! I also think the netting where the feed is is very interesting, and looks like a great and cheaper way to hang food from a tree than some of the very expensive feeders. Lovely shots and glad you got to see what you went for. I tried to photograph a titmouse over the weekend at my cabin, but that little bird was just too fast for me.....

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful little bird. I just noticed yesterday that there were four female cardinals on the bush and ground next to our feeder. We hadn't seen a female all winter until now. And so far it looks like there's one male.

    thanks for the sweet photos. Lucky birds when people feed them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. he's very handsome (this one loaded a bit more slowly for me, but i did manage to get it)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can still remember the first Crested Tits I ever saw, back in the early 80's................what a great bird........

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a precious bird and your pictures are wonderful. I am wondering what it is that he is eating out of the oragne bag. We, of course don't have the Crested Tit here, so this is quite a treat. Your trip to Scotland has been glorious ... thank you for all of the good information.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Andrea there are peanuts in the orange bag. Thanks for your comment.

      Delete
  10. I've never seen one in Scotland, and I've tried. I love them. I'd give anything to get one in my lens. You are so lucky to get them Margaret.

    ReplyDelete
  11. cracking set of photos and great info ,

    peter

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such a sweet-looking bird! I'd love to see one.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A sweet little bird Margaret, beautifully caught with your lens.

    ReplyDelete
  14. How very pretty, Margaret.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You got some fantastic shots of this cute little bird!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for all the information about, and great pictures of, this little bird.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I like the red food sack against the green backdrop. Beautiful bird too. Thanks for all the information, it was a very interesting read.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love little birds and the European Crested Tit is a BEAUTY. I loved reading all about that little bird. Thanks for taking time to tell us the details. Interesting.... Thanks!!!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thank You for stopping by my site. Love the creepers, very similar to ours.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A very lovely series Margaret!
    We have the tufted titmouse here that I love watching and while they don't look the same I can see similarities of their actions in your photos.

    ReplyDelete
  21. A very cute little bird and you got some great photos of it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love all your pics of the little bird. Great food sock too. Fun hobby isn't it Margaret . . .

    ReplyDelete