Bushtit

Bushtits are perhaps my favorite birds here in Washington. For one thing, they are odd creatures, the only New World member of the family Aegithalidae, the Long-tailed Tits of Eurasia. Bushtits travel in large flocks and often nest communally, with flock members, most often unmated males, but also females or immature birds, helping raise the young even of often indirectly related bushtits. 

I band many Bushtits in our backyard. These photos were taken on 2 and 3 February 2021. Banded Bushtits, presumably mine—shiny new bands always on the birds’ left leg— have been reported to me a couple of times. These reports suggest that Bushtits enjoy relatively large feeding territories. Over the past year, banded Bushtits were seen about a half mile south and a mile east of our yard.