Today is day 100 of the year, which is the unofficial Egg-laying Day for Great tits (Parus major). It marks the start of the breeding season, at least for the early birds, as the mean lay date of P. major is 24 April (day 114) (DOI).
We’ve had two tits patrolling and inspecting the nest box on our front wall, a three-in-one unit originally designed for sparrows, but with all the tit action we may soon be calling it the Parus Hilton.
Parus major, with caterpillar or grub, both favorite prey items during the nestling period
So, when do we get spammed with emails about the Parus Hilton porn?
As soon as I have installed webcams:)
yay tits!
…is this a great tit?
That is a great bird, but no tit. Looks like a miniature bush-shrike but I don’t know that one.
It’s from Costa Rica, but somehow I don’t think that’ll help :S
but goodness, how can u tell what kind of bird it looks like, or differentiate between bird families?
Well, it’s small with a wide gape and relative large eyes and some conspicuous color pattern, which leads me to think that it is an insectivore from (tropical) forest. It has a small hook on the bill. It reminds me of some bush-shrikes I know from E-Africa but unfortunately I don’t have my Costa Rica bird book with me today.
My sources say it’s a White-collared manakin (thanks C:)).