| Crested Tit (Parus cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Parus cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Crested Tit French name: Mésange huppée Order: Passeriformes Family: Paridae Size: 11 to 12 cm, 10 to 13 g Habitat: This species is linked to conifers, living especially in old dense pine forests. You can also find it in orchards and gardens located near dense woodlands. Food: Insects, spiders, seeds. Nesting: The nest is usually located in hole in rotten wood. The Crested Tit lays 5 to 8 eggs between April and May. Migration: Sedentary. Geographic area: From the Iberian peninsula to the Ural. But missing in most of Italy, missing in Great Britain except some pine forests in Scotland. |
You can easily distinguish the Crested Tit with its mottled black and white crest and with the black and white patterns on the head. The upper side of the body is greyish-brown, the underside is fawn and white. The Crested Tit songs, vigorous trills alternating with sharp "sississi", are very distinctive. I winter, Crested Tits join other small bird flocks in their quest for food. |
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It is easy to observe Crested Tits in my garden. This may be caused by the fact that there are many conifers. |
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I shot this picture through the kitchen's window. Tits are attracted to hanging fat balls. The camera is on a tripod with 300mm lenses. The final picture is got after image cropping. |
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Here is the result (to improve) of another photography method. The camera is put on a tripod and pre-set pointing to a place usually visited by Tits. I use a 10 meter long wired remote control to take the pictures (I am sitting in a warm place to take the pictures of the birds). As the bird location is not precisely known, I am using a rather small aperture to increase the depth of field (here F/11). I need then to use the flash light to get a correct exposure. As a result, the background colour is very dark and the picture is not very good. |
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I have observed this young Crested Tit on the cherry tree in the garden. It is waiting for the parents to bring something to eat. |
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Strangely, this young Crested Tits seemed to me a larger size than its parents. Some flights and physical exercises will reduce it to a normal size. |
André Bon April 2009