A Reader Contribution. Rosie Loves Wild Birds Too!

From Scotland, Margaret Cook writes:

"Am sending you a picture of a coal tit feeding on my hand... I've been in Speyside many times and never seen this before. Taken by Dave Slater. Sometimes the blue tits get brave, and even a crested tit, but mostly it's coal tits. Magic!" 

Coal Tit in Speyside, Scotland. Photo by Dave Slater.

Very sweet photo, thanks! We have similar birds come to our outdoor feeders in Southern Oregon, USA. Ours are Chickadees, and related to Coal Tits. Your photo urged me to check for others on the internet. Hence the one below.

Black-Capped Chickadee by Nadine Cox.
This photo is from Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

Like Coal Tits, our local Chickadees are easier to invite onto our hands than most other wild birds. I've not fed one on my hand yet, but can stand next to our feeder and talk to them as they eat. They're not easily frightened.

I read that Willow Tits are the most closely related to Black-Capped Chickadees. Although called Chickadees in America and Tits in Europe, all varieties of Chickadee and Tits have a relationship to one another, as do those in other parts of the world.

 

You Tube has videos of Chickadee, Coal Tit and Willow Tit songs. Interesting that there are similarities in how they sound, as well as looking much alike, even though often continents apart. 

Aren't all birds amazingly unique and beautiful?

 

Peace & Blessings!