7-9-2016 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LONG TAILED TIT (Aegithalos caudatus)

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.

The long-tailed tit is globally widespread throughout temperate Northern Europe and the Palearctic, into boreal Scandinavia and south into the Mediterranean zone. 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, 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. The nest is often built in thorny bushes less than 3 metres (10 feet) above the ground.

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.

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. 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. The nests suffer a high rate of predation, with only 17% success.