The Flickr Aegithalidae Image Generatr

Appearance and Size
Long-tailed tits are remarkably small birds, measuring about 14 cm from head to tail, with a wingspan ranging between 16 and 19 cm and weighing roughly 7–10 g. Their plumage is quite distinctive: they often display a pale, sometimes pinkish, head and chest complemented by darker wings and backs. However, the star of the show is their impressively long tail—which often extends several inches beyond their compact body—giving them a unique and endearing silhouette.
Behavior and Social Life
These little birds are known for their highly sociable and acrobatic behavior. Long-tailed tits are rarely seen in isolation; they often form small, excitable flocks (sometimes including around 20 individuals) that flit energetically through woodlands, hedgerows, parks, and even urban gardens. Their playful, bouncing flight patterns and habit of huddling together at night to stay warm add to their unmistakable charm.
Diet and Foraging
Long-tailed tits primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates. They especially favor caterpillars as well as the eggs of moths and butterflies—a diet that supports their high metabolic rate. When insect prey is scarce, such as during winter months, they will supplement their diet with seeds and may visit bird feeders.
Breeding and Nesting
One of the most fascinating aspects of long-tailed tit life is their nest-building prowess. They construct large, often spherical nests using a mixture of moss, lichen, feathers, and spider silk. This structure, resembling a cozy sleeping bag, features a small opening at the top for entry and exit. The breeding season typically starts in early spring, with females laying a clutch of about six to eight eggs. These eggs are incubated for around three weeks before hatching, with the chicks fledging approximately two weeks later.
Lifespan and Reproductive Strategy
Despite their appealing nature and strong social bonds, long-tailed tits have relatively short lifespans—typically only one to three years. This fleeting lifespan means that each bird may only get one or two opportunities to breed, so they tend to produce larger clutches to help ensure the survival of the species amid high predation risks.
Distribution and Habitat
Widely distributed across Europe and parts of Asia—including Japan, northern Mongolia, and southern Russia—long-tailed tits are versatile in their habitat use. In the United Kingdom, they can be commonly found in a range of environments: from woodlands and farmland to parks and urban gardens, wherever sufficient tree cover or scrub is available for feeding and nesting.

Appearance and Size
Long-tailed tits are remarkably small birds, measuring about 14 cm from head to tail, with a wingspan ranging between 16 and 19 cm and weighing roughly 7–10 g. Their plumage is quite distinctive: they often display a pale, sometimes pinkish, head and chest complemented by darker wings and backs. However, the star of the show is their impressively long tail—which often extends several inches beyond their compact body—giving them a unique and endearing silhouette.
Behavior and Social Life
These little birds are known for their highly sociable and acrobatic behavior. Long-tailed tits are rarely seen in isolation; they often form small, excitable flocks (sometimes including around 20 individuals) that flit energetically through woodlands, hedgerows, parks, and even urban gardens. Their playful, bouncing flight patterns and habit of huddling together at night to stay warm add to their unmistakable charm.
Diet and Foraging
Long-tailed tits primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates. They especially favor caterpillars as well as the eggs of moths and butterflies—a diet that supports their high metabolic rate. When insect prey is scarce, such as during winter months, they will supplement their diet with seeds and may visit bird feeders.
Breeding and Nesting
One of the most fascinating aspects of long-tailed tit life is their nest-building prowess. They construct large, often spherical nests using a mixture of moss, lichen, feathers, and spider silk. This structure, resembling a cozy sleeping bag, features a small opening at the top for entry and exit. The breeding season typically starts in early spring, with females laying a clutch of about six to eight eggs. These eggs are incubated for around three weeks before hatching, with the chicks fledging approximately two weeks later.
Lifespan and Reproductive Strategy
Despite their appealing nature and strong social bonds, long-tailed tits have relatively short lifespans—typically only one to three years. This fleeting lifespan means that each bird may only get one or two opportunities to breed, so they tend to produce larger clutches to help ensure the survival of the species amid high predation risks.
Distribution and Habitat
Widely distributed across Europe and parts of Asia—including Japan, northern Mongolia, and southern Russia—long-tailed tits are versatile in their habitat use. In the United Kingdom, they can be commonly found in a range of environments: from woodlands and farmland to parks and urban gardens, wherever sufficient tree cover or scrub is available for feeding and nesting.

Long-tailed Tit- Aegithalos caudatus gathers feathers and moss for nest material.

🐦 Orite à longue queue
🇬🇧 Long-tailed Tit
🇳🇱 Staartmees
🔬 Aegithalos caudatus
🌿 Aegithalidae
🌱 Aegithalos
↕️ 13–15 cm ↔️ 16–18 cm

🇫🇷 Avec une chenille au bec, l’Orite à longue queue se faufile parmi les branchages, agile et silencieuse. Ce petit oiseau rondouillet à la longue queue noire et blanche est un insectivore actif, surtout en période de nourrissage des jeunes. Sa grâce discrète et son regard vif en font une scène attendrissante.
🇬🇧 With a caterpillar in its beak, the Long-tailed Tit moves nimbly through the branches, agile and quiet. This tiny, fluffy bird with a long black-and-white tail is a busy insect hunter, especially when feeding its chicks. A charming sight of subtle elegance.
🇳🇱 Met een rups in de snavel beweegt de Staartmees zich behendig tussen de takken. Dit bolronde vogeltje met zijn opvallend lange zwart-witte staart is bijzonder actief, vooral tijdens het voeren van de jongen. Een aandoenlijk tafereel vol finesse.

💡 Sais-tu que…
🇫🇷 L’Orite construit un nid sophistiqué en mousse, lichen et toile d’araignée, extensible comme un pull en laine, pour accueillir jusqu’à 12 œufs !
🇬🇧 Did you know? The Long-tailed Tit builds an elastic nest of moss, lichen and spider silk – stretchy like a wool sweater – to fit up to 12 eggs!
🇳🇱 Wist je dat? De Staartmees een rekbaar nest maakt van mos, korstmos en spinnendraad – net als een wollen trui – dat plaats biedt aan wel 12 eitjes!

🇫🇷 Orite à longue queue — 🇬🇧 Long-tailed Tit — 🇳🇱 Staartmees
🔬 Aegithalos caudatus
🌿 Aegithalidae 🌱 Aegithalos
↕️ 14 cm ↔️ 16–19 cm

🇫🇷 Une boule de plumes au regard lointain… Perchée dans l’arbre, cette Orite à longue queue semble absorbée par ses pensées. Avec sa silhouette délicate, sa longue queue oscillant doucement, elle incarne un instant suspendu dans la quiétude boisée.
🇬🇧 A feathered puff with distant eyes… Perched in the branches, this Long-tailed Tit seems lost in thought. With its dainty shape and softly swaying tail, it captures a quiet, timeless moment among the trees.
🇳🇱 Een pluizige bol met een dromerige blik... Deze Staartmees zit stil op een tak, alsof ze even mijmert. Haar sierlijke silhouet en lange wiegende staart maken het tafereel haast poëtisch.

💡 Sais-tu que…
🇫🇷 L’Orite construit un nid ovoïde en mousse et plumes, camouflé et extensible, pouvant contenir jusqu’à 15 œufs !
🇬🇧 The Long-tailed Tit builds a stretchy, camouflaged nest made of moss and feathers, often holding up to 15 eggs!
🇳🇱 De Staartmees bouwt een elastisch, goed gecamoufleerd nest van mos en veren dat wel 15 eitjes kan bevatten!

Male and female Long-tailed Tits- Aegithalos caudatus nest building.

Long-tailed Tit- Aegithalos caudatus builds nest.

Leptopoecile sophiae sophiae
Panamic, Nubra Valley, Ladakh

Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed Tits always bring a smile to my face

Passeriformes.
Aegithalidae.
Jardines del Túria, Valéncia.
España.

31/3-25 ; 10:25:50

28/3-25 ; 08:28:02

28/3-25 ; 07:53:00

Long-tailed tit, staartmees (Aegithalos caudatus)

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Boldly patterned, tiny bird, usually found in groups. Adult gray above, pale below, with yellow eye and black throat and mask separated by white, chestnut-washed flanks. Juvenile has gray rather than orange and lacks black on throat. Significant regional variation in exact facial patterning: Indochinese population birds have a gray crown (bright rufous in other populations) and Himalayan birds have an white oval brow patch. Forages acrobatically in small branches, sometimes hovering at the tips to extract invertebrates. Often difficult to see in dense trees; presence given away by high-pitched contact calls (“tsip”) and thin, rolling trills. Predominantly found in broadleaf and mixed forests in foothills and submontane areas, but can also range into lowlands. (eBird)
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We ran into a small flock of these pretty and energetic birds in the mountains of Thailand. I just love their bold facial patterns that somehow seem better suited to a big bird, but perhaps their big personalities suffice.

Here's a link to our Thailand bird trip list: ebird.org/tripreport/328567

Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park - Doi Lang, Chang Mai, Thailand. February 2025.
Rockjumper Birding Tours.