Blue Tit with Overgrown Upper and Lower Mandible

Poor thing. How does it pick up food?

Iv heard of things like overgrown beaks. When birds get them it can make it hard to eat and things like that sometimes

It seemed to do OK actually or maybe it was cos there was a wee mound of sunflower hearts. Must feed fine if its lasted this long for its beak to be this overgrown . I've reported it to the BTO

Oh my poor wee thing, I wonder how it will manage to eat, it looks okay though so must be able to manage somehow. Hazel had photos of a Blue Tit as well I think, that she posted here, it did well but the mandibles were nowhere near the length of your fellows, hope it will be okay.

I was just doing a quick search there CL and founds Hazel's from 5yrs ago..as you say no where near the length of mine. I will need to keep the swing feeder topped up for the wee one.

Hazels post:

community.rspb.org.uk/.../blue-tit-with-overgrown-upper-mandible-plus-other-birds-and-squirrels

That is a very distorted beak, amazing how it has managed to feed. I did have a blackbird visiting for years with a crossed beak, he managed to bring up numerous youngsters too, you would never think it possible. Haven't a pic on hand but if I find one I might put it up sometime.

I would if I could find them Linda, only they seem to be on the other pc which has to be wired in before I can use it!!!! I had thought all my old photos were on a hard drive safely put away but it seems they have stayed on previous pc, doh, you can tell I don't know what I am doing.

Poor wee thing. Its done well to get this far, and it is amazing how nature manages to move on with such abnormalities!

I fear nature will take charge unless someone can catch the blue tit and trim the mandible.

I raised a similar post a couple of years back about a coal tit, but nowhere near as bad as that; "Coal Tit with crossed over beak!"

https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/wildlife-questions/207056/coal-tit-with-crossed-over-beak

Also mentioned in there is a link from Hazel to report sightings like that. The link is :https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw/about/background/projects/bgbw

Incidentally, we still see coal tits with crossed mandibles, and often two or three at a time, so it could be a genetic mutation here. But they seem healthy enough, and get on with the daily business of feeding and surviving.

Already reported it yesterday Mike. Yeah a remember your post...seems its not that uncommon...poor wee birdies