THE LONG TAIL TIT BIRD
Have you seen this bird on social media? Some are fat and chubby? Facts? Well, I'm going to tell you now! : The long tail tit or long tailed bushtit (Aegithalos Caudatus) is a common bird found throughtout Europe and the Palearctic. The genus name Aegithalos was a term used by Aristotle for some European tits, including the long tailed tit.
The long tailed tit was formally by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Parus Caudatus. The specific epithet caudatus is the Latin word for "tailed" Linnaeus did not invent this Latin name. "Parus Caudatus" had been used by earlier authors such as the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in 1555, the Italian naturalist Ulisse Alsrovandi in 1559, abnd the English ornithologist Francis Willughby in 1676. Willughby listed the English name as "Long tail'd titmouse". It's previous common nickname in everyday English was the bum-towel, from the shape of its tail. The long tailed tit was the first classified as a true tit of the Parus group. Parus has since been split from the Aegithalidae, with the latter becoming a distinct family containing three genera.
The long tailed tit is insectivorous throughout the year. It eats predominantly arthropods, preferring the eggs and larvae of moths and butterflies. Occasional vegetable matter is taken in the autumn. This species has been described as a tiny (at only (13-15 cm (5-6 in) in length, including its 7-9 cm , round-bodied tit with a short, stubby bill and a very long, narrow tail. The sexes look the same and young birds undergo a complete moult to adult plumage before the first winter. The plumage is mainly black and white, with variable amounts of grey and pink.
Vocalisations are a valuable aid to locating and identifying these birds. When in flocks they issue constant contact calls and are often hear before they are seen. they have three main calls, a single high pitched pit, a 'triple trill' eez-eez-eez, and a rattling schnuur. The calls become faster and louder when the birds cross open ground or if an individual becomes separated from the group.
Vocalisations are a valuable aid to locating and identifying these birds. When in floc
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