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Camera view on line for nine years and this year a new visitor – crested tit. With it we start the introduction of the birds seen in the winter bird feeder camera.

 

That a crested tit happens to visit a home garden is rare, we have rather to do with a ”forest tit”. Habitat is pine forests but also mixed forests with pines; crested tits are  not seen on the islands. Mostly they are sedentary birds, only a small part migrates towards south and a few of the crested tits that nested north of us arrive to winter. The winter population is estimated to be at least a quarter of a million individuals.

 

Already in autumn the roaming tits formed groups where one or a few crested tits might be included. They gathered even before the cold and snow arrived near human settlements to find out where food tables were laid  out.

 

A crest on the head can be seen only on a few European passerines, and one of them is our hero of the day. The crest is triangular, black-and-white patterned, in adults sometimes curved a little forward, that of young birds less ”fluffed” and their plumage is visibly more brownish.

 

The brownish-red eyes and lighter cheeks of crested tits are surrounded by a black arced line. Below the fine and sharp black beak a throat patch of the same colour, the white plumage of the neck is finished by a dark narrow neck band. Back and tail feathers brown, belly pale grey, on the sides some little rust colour. Length up to 12 centimeters and weight too in the same order.

 

A pretty but wary bird that we may see in action at the fat ball in the mornings when other birds are still scarce.

 

Crested tit observations: LINK

 

Crested tit