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Ahhh, nice to be back! Haven't been here in a while, what with one thing and another! :)
I just wanted to ask about Great Tits. I get a few of them visiting the garden and most of them are "regular" looking! But there's one that's very different to the others but I'm sure it's Great Tit! It has the black cap on it's head, the black stripe down it's chest and the other distinctive Great Tit markings on it's wings and tail. But seems bigger than the other Great Tits, has a much rounder body, rather than the more "torpedo" shape of the others and it's breast is not yellow but very pale and almost grey! I haven't managed to get a photo of it yet but if I do I'll post it here. Any ideas? It's a really beautiful bird, whatever it is!
In reply to doggie:
I have never heard a juvenile Great tit described as an escaped tennis ball before, but that's brilliant doggie and pretty much outlines what they look like! Fledglings often look like a little bigger than the adults which can often cause confusion.
Escaped tennis ball, what a hoot Alan. Brilliant! Another one to remember. LOL. Hope it does turn out to be a young 'un Ella or do you live near Wimbledon........
bye for now
In reply to Tulip:
Lol at escaped tennis ball. No, I don't think it's a fledgling, it doesn't look like one. There have been a couple of young Great Tits with their parents in the garden recently and they look very different. This one doesn't seem to have any baby feathers. It really is a lot bigger than the other Great Tits that visit, and is so much rounder and has a very pale grey breast. It's not like the one in Doggie's picture. I just saw it again earlier today. I'm pretty sure it is a Great Tit, it does have that distinctive black stripe down it's breast. It just looks so different to the others, it's weird. A Giant Mutant Great Tit, lol! I'll try to get a photo when I can.
In reply to Ella:
Actually, reading about the different "sub-species" of Great Tits around the world, do Great Tits often travel far distances to other countries? Because looking at some of the pictures, this one that's visiting my garden looks a bit more like the Japanese and Russian Great Tits, colour wise!
In reply to Lolly_24:
Lol, maybe it was exposed to radiation in deepest Siberia and mutated. Sounds like a good 1950's sci-fi b-movie, doesn't it? The Attack Of The Killer Mutant Tits!! Well, a sci-fi film or another film of the dodgier kind, perhaps! Lol.
I'll do my best to get a pic. I never seem to have my camera ready when I see it!