Bird of the week - Willow tit

The willow tit was my bird of the week last March but I thought it would be good to share some photos from this week. These two were feeding alongside a flock of great tits and blue tits.

Poecile montanus (also montana) seems an odd name for a bird of damp woodland.  Look at the maps below and you can see that it doesn't live in mountains.

Willow tit numbers are in decline and the bird is on the UK red list.  The total UK population is only around 3000 pairs.

The BTO Bird Atlas maps of change in distribution show a disastrous decline in the southern and eastern parts of the UK.

The causes of the population decline are not clear but may include habitat loss and increased nest predation (by great spotted woodpeckers).  You can read a review of research into the decline in willow tit numbers published in British Birds here.  You can listen to a willow tit call here and watch a video of Mitchell Butel singing "Tit-Willow" in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado here.