Penduline tits · Perching birds
Eurasian Penduline-Tit
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Remiz pendulinus
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Voice
Call
Sonothèque ADVL
Call
Sonothèque ADVL
How to recognize it
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10–11 cm, like a tit
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Grey head with a black mask through the eye
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Chestnut-brown back, fine bill, relatively long tail
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Thin whistle "tsee-tsee"
About the species
The Eurasian Penduline-Tit is usually noticed by its pale head, dark face pattern, and chestnut back, but its nest says as much as its plumage. It makes a hanging pouch from plant fibres, grass, hair, and wool, often on thin branches over water.
Its voice is a thin whistle, often rendered as "cii-cii". It moves through trees, reeds, and shrubs, picking insects and spiders, and also takes seeds. In the reedbeds it can cling with one foot while pulling seed fluff out with the other.
It lives along rivers, lakes, and marshes, where thickets give it cover and nesting sites. In the north it migrates, while some southern populations stay put through the year.
Where to find
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Along willow-lined riverbanks and canal edges — especially where thin branches hang over the water and a high, thin call carries from the canopy.
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At pond fringes and reedbeds — look for the tiny hanging pouch nest between reeds or drooping twigs.
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In quiet floodplain parks with shrubs and mature trees — often forages among branches and in the reed stems.
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Near marshy water margins in the early morning — stays low and picks insects from the waterside greenery.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Remiz pendulinus Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Eurasian penduline tit Encyclopedia article