Long-tailed Tit nest
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| A Long-tailed Tit nest set in a fork of a birch tree |
It has been a long cold spring in the Scottish Highlands this year, with the trees late in coming into leaf. Any birds which nest early, therefore need to be crafty in concealing their nests from predators. Long-tailed Tits, are masters of this. They build their domed nest with mosses and then dapple the surface with flecks of lichens gathered from the branches of neighbouring trees. The finished surface then blends in almost imperceptibly with the lichen-covered nest branch.
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| A well concealed Long-tailed Tit nest |
Here an incubating bird watches from the entrance hole to the nest, set high on the right side. Even her face seems to merge with the colours of the lichen on the branch. In all, a marvellous example of camouflage.
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A Long-tailed Tit looks out from its nest hole.
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