Long-tailed tit

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Long-tailed tit
Aegithalos caudatus side-on.jpg
A long-tailed tit in Lancashire, United Kingdom
Calls recorded in Cambridgeshire
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Aegithalidae
Genus: Aegithalos
Species:
A. caudatus
Binomial name
Aegithalos caudatus
Subspecies [2]
  • A. c. caudatus – (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • A. c. rosaceus – Mathews, 1938
  • A. c. europaeus – (Hermann, 1804)
  • A. c. aremoricus – Whistler, 1929
  • A. c. taiti – Ingram, W, 1913
  • A. c. irbii – (Sharpe & Dresser, 1871)
  • A. c. italiae – Jourdain, 1910
  • A. c. siculus – (Whitaker, 1901)
  • A. c. macedonicus – (Salvadori & Dresser, 1892)
  • A. c. tephronotus – (Gunther, 1865)
  • A. c. tauricus – (Menzbier, 1903)
  • A. c. major – (Radde, 1884)
  • A. c. alpinus – (Hablizl, 1783)
  • A. c. passekii – (Zarudny, 1904)
  • A. c. trivirgatus – (Temminck & Schlegel, 1848)
  • A. c. kiusiuensis – Kuroda, Nagamichi, 1923
  • A. c. magnus – (Clark, AH, 1907)
AegithalosCaudatusIUCN.svg
Range of A. caudatus
  Resident
  Non-breeding
Synonyms
  • Parus caudatusLinnaeus, 1758

The long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus), also named long-tailed bushtit, is a common bird found throughout Europe and the Palearctic. The genus name Aegithalos was a term used by Aristotle for some European tits, including the long-tailed tit.

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The long-tailed tit was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Parus caudatus. [3] The specific epithet caudatus is the Latin word for "tailed". [4] Linnaeus did not invent this Latin name. "Parus caudatus" had been used by earlier authors such as the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in 1555, [5] the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1599, [6] and the English ornithologist Francis Willughby in 1676. Willughby listed the English name as the "long tail'd titmouse". [7] Its previous common nickname in everyday English was the bum-towel, from the shape of its tail. [8]

The long-tailed tit was 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:

This is the only representative of the Aegithalidae in northern Eurasia. [9] The long-tailed tit exhibits complex global variation with 17 races recognised, [10] divisible into three groups: [11]

Distribution map of long-tailed tits Schwanzmeise (Aegithalos caudatus) distribution map.png
Distribution map of long-tailed tits
Aegithalos caudatus caudatus with white head in Berlin Parks.Range.Aegithalos.caudatus.caudatus.jpg
Aegithalos caudatus caudatus with white head in Berlin

The silver-throated bushtit (Aegithalos glaucogularis) from eastern China was formerly considered conspecific but the plumage is distinctive and there are significant genetic differences. [12] [13]

Where the groups meet there are extensive areas occupied by very variable ‘hybrids’. The British long-tailed tit, subspecies A. c. rosaceus, belongs to the A. c. europaeus group. [14]

Description

This species has been described as a tiny (at only 13–15 cm (5–6 in) in length, including its 7–9 cm (3–3+1⁄2 in) tail), round-bodied tit with a short, stubby bill and a very long, narrow tail. [11] 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. [11]

Voice

Vocalisations are a valuable aid to locating and identifying these birds. When in flocks they issue constant contact calls and are often heard 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. [15]

Distribution and habitat

The long-tailed tit is globally widespread throughout temperate Northern Europe and the Palearctic, into boreal Scandinavia and south into the Mediterranean zone. [16] It inhabits deciduous and mixed woodland with a well-developed shrub layer, favouring edge habitats. It can also be found in scrub, heathland with scattered trees, bushes and hedges, in farmland and riverine woodland, [11] parks and gardens. The bird's year-round diet of insects and social foraging bias habitat choice in winter towards deciduous woodland, typically of oak, ash and locally sycamore species. For nesting, strong preference is shown towards scrub areas. [16] The nest is often built in thorny bushes less than 3 metres (10 feet) above the ground. [11]

Behaviour and ecology

Food and feeding

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 (such as seeds) is taken in the autumn. [17] [18]

Nest

The nest of the long-tailed tit is constructed from four materials: lichen, feathers, spider egg cocoons and moss, with over 6,000 pieces used for a typical nest. The nest is a flexible sac with a small, round entrance at the top, suspended either low in a gorse or bramble bush or high up in the forks of tree branches. The structural stability of the nest is provided by a mesh of moss and spider silk; the tiny leaves of the moss act as hooks and the spider's silken thread provides the loops, thus producing a natural form of velcro. [19] The tit lines the outside with hundreds of flakes of pale lichens to provide camouflage. The inside of the nest is lined with more than 2,000 downy feathers to provide insulation. [19] The nests suffer a high rate of predation, with only 17% success. [20]

Social behaviour

"Males fighting for the possession of territory. The feathers have been torn from the crown of the defeated and dying rival" (H. E. Howard (1920), Territory in Bird Life, p. 145) Territory in bird life p145 (cropped).png
"Males fighting for the possession of territory. The feathers have been torn from the crown of the defeated and dying rival" (H. E. Howard (1920), Territory in Bird Life, p. 145)
Long-tailed tits resting, mid-afternoon in energy saving anti-parallel paired formation in a willow Antipaired LTTs.jpg
Long-tailed tits resting, mid-afternoon in energy saving anti-parallel paired formation in a willow

Extensive work has been done at Wytham Wood, Oxfordshire, in Germany and Japan.

Outside the breeding season they form compact flocks of six to seventeen birds, composed of family parties (parents and offspring) from the previous breeding season, together with any extra adults that helped to raise a brood. [21] These flocks will occupy and defend territories against neighbouring flocks. [15] The driving force behind the flocking behaviour is thought to be that of winter roosting, being susceptible to cold; huddling increases survival through cold nights. [22]

From July to February, the non-breeding season, long-tailed tits form flocks of relatives and non-relatives, roosting communally. When the breeding season begins, the flocks break up, and the birds attempt to breed in monogamous pairs. [23] Males remain within the winter territory, while females have a tendency to wander to neighbouring territories. [15]

Pairs whose nests fail have three choices: try again, abandon nesting for the season or help at a neighbouring nest. It has been shown that failed pairs split and help at the nests of male relatives, [22] [24] [25] recognition being established vocally. [24] The helped nests have greater success due to higher provisioning rates and better nest defence. [22] At the end of the breeding season, in June and July, the birds reform the winter flocks in their winter territory. [15]

Helpers

Due to high predation, there is a high nest failure rate. If nest failure occurs after the beginning of May, failed breeders will not try to re-nest, but may become helpers at a nest of another, usually related, pair. In one study, around 50% of nests had one or more helpers. By helping close relatives, helpers gain indirect fitness benefits by increasing the survivability of related offspring. Helpers may also gain greater access to mates and territories in the future. Helpers also gain experience raising young and therefore their future offspring have greater survivability rates.

Males and females are equally likely to become helpers. Parents may allow the care of helpers to be additive to their own efforts, or on the other extreme, they may reduce their efforts with the care of the helpers. Juvenile males have a higher survivability than juvenile females, although the survival rate for adults of the two sexes is the same. Offspring that were raised with helpers have a higher survivability than offspring raised without. Failed breeders that became helpers have a higher survivability than failed breeders who did not. This may be because of the reduced energy expenditure from sharing a nest. This is similar to acorn woodpeckers and green wood hoopoes. However, failed breeders that did not help are more likely to breed successfully in subsequent years, so there may be a cost of helping. This may be due to helpers having relatively poorer body conditions at the end of the breeding season, similar to pied kingfisher and white-winged chough. Successful breeders have a survivability rate around the survivability of failed breeders who became helpers. [23]

Status and conservation

Globally, the species is common throughout its range, only becoming scarce at the edge of the distribution. [11] The IUCN, BirdLife International and The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) all list the long-tailed tit as a ‘species of least concern’, currently under little or no threat and reasonably abundant. [1] [26]

Due to their small size they are vulnerable to extreme cold weather, with population losses of up to 80% being recorded in times of prolonged cold. It is thought that populations rapidly return to previous levels due to high breeding potential. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aegithalidae</span> Family of birds

The bushtits or long-tailed tits are small passerine birds from the family Aegithalidae, containing 13 species in three genera, all but one of which (Psaltriparus) are found in Eurasia. Bushtits are active birds with long tails compared to their size, moving almost constantly while they forage for insects in shrubs and trees. During non-breeding season, birds live in flocks of up to 50 individuals. Several bushtit species display cooperative breeding behavior, also called helpers at the nest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American bushtit</span> Species of bird

The American bushtit or simply bushtit is a social songbird belonging to the genus Psaltriparus. It is one of the smallest passerines in North America and it is the only species in the family Aegithalidae that is found in United States; the other seven species are found in Eurasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tit (bird)</span> Family of small passerine birds

The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Most were formerly classified in the genus Parus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh tit</span> Species of bird

The marsh tit is a Eurasian passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus Poecile, closely related to the willow tit, Père David's and Songar tits. It is a small bird, around 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighing 12 g (0.42 oz), with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised. Its close resemblance to the willow tit can cause identification problems, especially in the United Kingdom where the local subspecies of the two are very similar: they were not recognised as separate species until 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow tit</span> Species of passerine bird in the tit family Paridae

The willow tit is a passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and off-white with a black cap and bib. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related marsh tit, which explains it breeding much further north. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian blue tit</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian blue tit is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognisable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great tit</span> Passerine bird in the tit family Paridae

The great tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Africa where it is generally resident in any sort of woodland; most great tits do not migrate except in extremely harsh winters. Until 2005 this species was lumped with numerous other subspecies. DNA studies have shown these other subspecies to be distinct from the great tit and these have now been separated as two distinct species, the cinereous tit of southern Asia, and the Japanese tit of East Asia. The great tit remains the most widespread species in the genus Parus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearded reedling</span> Species of bird

The bearded reedling is a small, long-tailed passerine bird found in reed beds near water in the temperate zone of Eurasia. It is frequently known as the bearded tit or the bearded parrotbill, as it historically was believed to be closely related to tits or parrotbills. Today it is known to lack close relatives and it is the only species in the family Panuridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawfinch</span> Species of bird

The hawfinch is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Coccothraustes. Its closest living relatives are the Chinese grosbeak and Japanese grosbeak of East Asia, and the evening grosbeak and hooded grosbeak of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helpers at the nest</span>

Helpers at the nest is a term used in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology to describe a social structure in which juveniles and sexually mature adolescents of either one or both sexes remain in association with their parents and help them raise subsequent broods or litters, instead of dispersing and beginning to reproduce themselves. This phenomenon was first studied in birds where it occurs most frequently, but it is also known in animals from many different groups including mammals and insects. It is a simple form of co-operative breeding. The effects of helpers usually amount to a net benefit, however, benefits are not uniformly distributed by all helpers nor across all species that exhibit this behaviour. There are multiple proposed explanations for the behaviour, but its variability and broad taxonomic occurrences result in simultaneously plausible theories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azure tit</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian penduline tit</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated bushtit</span> Species of bird

The black-throated bushtit, also known as the black-throated tit, is a very small passerine bird in the family Aegithalidae.

<i>Aegithalos</i> Genus of birds

Aegithalos is a genus of passerine birds in the family Aegithalidae (bushtits), encompassing majority of the species in the family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-browed bushtit</span> Species of bird

The black-browed bushtit or black-browed tit is a species of bird in the family Aegithalidae. It is found in mid-southern China and sporadically in Myanmar. Its natural habitats are boreal forests and temperate forests. It was formerly considered conspecific with the rufous-fronted tit of the central and eastern Himalayas but is now often regarded as a separate species. Sometimes the subspecies A. b. sharpei of western Burma is also treated as a species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-browed tit-warbler</span> Songbird of the mountains of Tibet and China

The white-browed tit-warbler is a species of bird in the family Aegithalidae. The species was first described by Nikolai Severtzov in 1873. It is resident in the Tian Shan and central China as well as in the Himalayas where it is mainly found in winter. Its natural habitat is boreal forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygmy bushtit</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-fronted bushtit</span> Species of bird

The rufous-fronted bushtit or rufous-fronted tit is a small passerine bird of the eastern and central Himalayas belonging to the long-tailed tit family, Aegithalidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinereous tit</span> Species of bird

The cinereous tit is a species of bird in the tit family Paridae. This species is made up of several populations that were earlier treated as subspecies of the great tit. These birds are grey backed with white undersides. The great tit in the new sense is distinguishable by the greenish-back and yellowish underside. The distribution of this species extends from parts of West Asia across South Asia and into Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver-throated bushtit</span> Species of bird

The silver-throated bushtit or silver-throated tit is a species of passerine bird in the family Aegithalidae, widespread throughout the temperate forests of Central, East and parts of North and Western China. The bird's native habitats are mainly along the middle/lower Yangtze and Yellow River basins, although there is also a small southwestern habitat extension in Yunnan along the Lancang valley within the Hengduan Mountains. It has two recognized subspecies.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Aegithalos caudatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T103871923A87471081. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103871923A87471081.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (2020). IOC World Bird List. v10.2. doi:10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
  3. ↑ Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Volume 1 (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 190.
  4. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  94. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. ↑ Gesner, Conrad (1555). Historiae animalium liber III qui est de avium natura. Adiecti sunt ab initio indices alphabetici decem super nominibus avium in totidem linguis diversis: & ante illos enumeratio avium eo ordine quo in hoc volumine continentur (in Latin). Zurich: Froschauer. p. 617.
  6. ↑ Aldrovandi, Ulisse (1637). Ulyssis Aldrovandi philosophi ac medici Bononiensis historiam naturalem in gymnasio Bononiensi profitentis, Ornithologiae (in Latin). Vol. 2. Bononiae (Bologna, Italy): Franciscum de Franciscis Senensem. pp. 715–720 Lib. 17 Cap. 15.
  7. ↑ Willughby, Francis (1676). Ornithologiae libri tres (in Latin). London: John Martyn. p. 176.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Keith Vivian (1991). Man and the natural world : changing attitudes in England, 1500-1800. London: Allen Lane. ISBN   978-0-14-193604-8. OCLC   644450864.
  9. ↑ Cramp & Perrins 1993, p. 132.
  10. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Bushtits, leaf warblers, reed warblers". World Bird List. v8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Harrap, S. and Quinn, D. (1996) Helm Identification Guides: Tits, Nuthatches & Treecreepers. Helm Identification Guides.1 ed. London, Christopher Helm (A&C Black)
  12. ↑ Harrap, S (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Silver-throated Tit (Aegithalos glaucogularis)" . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. doi:10.2173/bow.lottit5.02 . Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  13. ↑ Päckert, M.; Martens, J.; Sun, Y.-H. (2010). "Phylogeny of long-tailed tits and allies inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers (Aves: Passeriformes, Aegithalidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (3): 952–967. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.024. PMID   20102744.
  14. ↑ Cramp & Perrins 1993, p. 133.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Gaston, A.J. (1973). "The ecology and behaviour of the long-tailed tit". Ibis. 115 (3): 330–351. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1973.tb01974.x.
  16. 1 2 Cramp & Perrins 1993, p. 134.
  17. ↑ "Aegithalos caudatus (Long-tailed tit)". Animal Diversity Web .
  18. ↑ Cramp & Perrins 1993, p. 136.
  19. 1 2 Hansell, Michael Henry (2007). Built by animals: the natural history of animal architecture . Oxford University Press. pp.  76, 77. ISBN   978-0-19-920556-1.
  20. ↑ Hatchwell, B.J.; Russell, A.F.; Fowlie, M.K.; Ross, D.J. (1999). "Reproductive success and nest-site selection in a cooperative breeder: effect of experience and a direct benefit of helping" (PDF). Auk. 116 (2): 355–363. doi:10.2307/4089370. JSTOR   4089370.
  21. ↑ Cramp & Perrins 1993, p. 138.
  22. 1 2 3 Glen, N.W.; Perrins, C.M. (1988). "Cooperative breeding by long-tailed tits" (PDF). British Birds. 81 (12): 630–641.
  23. 1 2 McGowan, A.; Hatchwell, B.J.; Woodburn, R.J.W. (2003). "The effect of helping behaviour on the survival of juvenile and adult long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus". Journal of Animal Ecology. 72 (3): 491–499. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2656.2003.00719.x .
  24. 1 2 Hatchwell, J.; Ross, D.J.; Fowlie, M.K.; McGowan, A. (2001). "Kin discrimination in cooperatively breeding long-tailed tits". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 268 (1470): 885–890. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1598. PMC   1088684 . PMID   11370960.
  25. ↑ Sharp, S.P.; Simeoni, M.; Hatchwell, B. (2008). "Dispersal of sibling coalitions promotes helping among immigrants in a cooperatively breeding bird". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1647): 2125–2130. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0398 . PMC   2603207 . PMID   18522914.
  26. ↑ Robinson, R.A. (1967). BirdFacts: Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus. Vol. 12. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved 30 March 2018.

Sources

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