Bird of the week - Crested tit

I had never seen a crested tit before this week and then three came along all at once.  They were in Abernethy Forest near Loch Garten.

The three I saw were in close company with lots of coal tits which are about the same size and have similar colouring.

Previously known as Parus cristatus, this is now Lophophanes cristatus, lophophanes meaning light crest.

In the UK this is a bird of the ancient Caledonian forest of Inverness and Strathspey.

That we don't see it more widely seems puzzling when you look at its European distribution map.

"Lophophanes cristatus distribution map" by Viktor Kravtchenko - Own work based on the following data:. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lophophanes_cristatus_distribution_map.png#/media/File:Lophophanes_cristatus_distribution_map.png

Listen to the BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the day on crested tit here and you will hear its wonderful call.