Title: Longtail tit chicks form a food line
Post by: Donna on 30-May-10, 07:05:25 AM
A longtailed tit feeds her 11 chicks at an RSPB nature reserve. Mealtimes can be a boisterous for any family, so spare a thought for this longtailed tit trying to feed her brood of 11.
The snap was taken this week by Gary Shilton, a volunteer at the RSPB's Fairburn Ings nature reserve in West Yorkshire.
Aegithalos caudatus are known for having big families, but even among peers 11 chicks is an impressive number. Being small – their tails are longer than their bodies – longtailed tits have also been harder hit than many birds by the recent very cold winter, with numbers dropping by more than a quarter in this year's Great Garden Birdwatch public survey.
The RSPB speculates the species has thrived in recent years and birds have survived this winter by regularly adding seeds and peanuts from garden birdtables to their usual diet of insects.
"Many birds are feeding their young at the moment, and with some species having two or three broods in the coming weeks [we] urge everyone to continue putting out food and water over the summer," added an RSPB spokesman.