Northern Long-tailed Tit
Aegithalos caudatus caudatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (1, 0)
Photo © By Philaweb - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47564503
Sub-species
STATUS
Palearctic.
OVERVIEW
A pure white head contrasting sharply with the black mantle at the base of the nape is a key identification mark. Grey streaking on the head, or darker neck sides, is suggestive of intergradation (Brit. Birds 102: 586).
The records under the Not proven header are poorly documented with the above criteria not being met.
RECORD
1). 1852 Northumberland Tynemouth, picked up dead, November, now at Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
(Hancock, 1874; Howse, 1899; J. M. Charlton, Zoologist 1911: 217; Bolam, 1912; BOU, 1915; Witherby et al., 1940-52; BOU, 1971; Galloway & Meek, 1978-83; P. Tapsell, Birds in Northumbria 2005: 237-248, plate).
History Hancock (1874: 77) says: 'A fine specimen (Plate IX) was found dead at Tynemouth, in November, 1852, and was presented to me by the late W. J. Forster, Esq., and is now in my collection. It was in a very good state of preservation, and, when picked up, could not have been dead for more than a day or two. It had probably just arrived from the north of Europe.'
Howse (1899: 57) in his Index-Catalogue of the Birds in the Hancock Collection, says: 'Case 154. No. 1 (upper). Found dead at Tynemouth, Nov., 1852, by W. J. Forster, Esq.' J. M. Charlton (1911) in The Zoologist, 4th series, Vol. XV. p. 217, says: 'The first record I can find is one which was found dead at Tynemouth in November, 1852, and was presented to J. Hancock by W. J. Forster, Esq. Hancock says of it: - "It was in a very good state of preservation, and, when picked up, could not have been dead a day or two. It had probably just arrived from the north of Europe". The bird was a specimen of the northern form of this species, the true A. caudata; that is, the White-headed Long-tailed Tit of some authors, owing to its having an entirely white head (Plate IV). This is the only pure specimen of this form which has been obtained in England. It is figured in Hancock's Catalogue from a drawing by the author from the bird stuffed by him now in the Hancock Museum.'
Bolam (1912: 77) says: 'A very beautiful specimen of the latter - well known amongst ornithologists - was recorded by Hancock, and figured in his Catalogue of the Birds of Northumberland and Durham. It was picked up dead, but in quite a fresh state, on the sands at Tynemouth, in November, 1852, and, having been set up by Hancock's deft hand, is still a noteworthy object in the Newcastle Museum. It is almost, if not quite, the only properly authenticated occurrence of the bird in Britain. There is, as pointed out by Hancock, another example at Newcastle, which formed part of the Wycliffe Collection in the old Museum, and of which Bewick left an unpublished drawing, and this specimen, it has been suspected, may also have been of local origin, but its history has been lost.'
Admitted nationally as the first for Britain (BOU 1971: 253).
NOT PROVEN
0). Pre 1837 County unknown No locality, obtained, undated.
(E. Blyth, Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History (1837) 1: 203).
History E. Blyth (1837) in Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History Vol. I. p. 203, says: '...Certain it is that, out of the great numbers that I have examined in England, I have met with only one, a male, in which the black markings on the head were nearly obsolete.'
0). 1871 Somerset Near Bridgwater, seen, October.
(J. Gatcombe, Zoologist 1872: 2943; Ballance, 2006).
History J. Gatcombe of Stonehouse (1872) in The Zoologist, 2nd series, Vol. VII. p. 2943, undated, says: 'When driving near Bridgwater in October last I observed a small flock of Long-tailed Tits, amongst which was one with a white head, and which I have no doubt was the variety often found on the continent, but so rarely in Britain, named Acredula caudata.'
0). 1872 Lincolnshire Great Cotes, seen, November.
(J. Cordeaux, Zoologist 1873: 3401; Cordeaux, 1899; Smith & Cornwallis, 1955; Lorand & Atkin, 1989).
History J. Cordeaux (1873) in The Zoologist, 2nd series, Vol. VIII. p. 3401, says: 'Longtailed Tit. I lately saw, flitting along one of the old hedgerows in the marsh, a flight of these agile, graceful little fellows. It was a somewhat unusual situation for them to be found in, and a long way from the thickly-wooded districts they frequent. This made me think they might perhaps be a migrating party moving southward from some northern station. There was one, hanging upside down on the end of a twig, which undoubtedly belonged to the northern race or variety, as the little fellow's head was quite white, without any shade or tint of rosy colour, as in the Acredula caudata rosea of Blyth, our common English type.'
Cordeaux (1899: 6) says: 'November, 1872, one in Great Cotes marsh, with a pure-white head (Zool., 1873, p. 3401).'
Accepted locally by Lorand & Atkin (1989: 190) who erroneously state that it was seen by Cordeaux in 1972.
0). 1877 Somerset Northmoor, seen, October.
(J. Gatcombe, Zoologist 1878: 52).
History J. Gatcombe of Stonehouse (1878) in The Zoologist, 3rd series, Vol. II. p. 52, says: 'Visiting Northmoor, Somerset during September...On the 4th October I am almost certain that I saw amongst a party of Long-tailed Tits one with a white head, - a variety, I believe, not uncommon in some parts of the Continent, - and a few years since, strange to say, I remarked another in the same locality, which was duly recorded at the time in The Zoologist (1872, p. 2943). Bewick mentions that there was a variety of the kind in the Wycliffe Museum.'
Not accepted locally (Ballance 2006).
0). Pre 1889 Kent Castle Meadow, Dover, female, shot, no date, now in the Prentis collection, Rochester.
(S. Webb, British Association Report Dover 1899; Dowker, 1889; Balston, Shepherd & Bartlett, 1907; Ticehurst, 1909; BOU, 1915; Harrison, 1953).
History Balston, Shepherd & Bartlett (1907: 95) say: 'The only recorded example of this species having been obtained in Kent is upon the authorities of Messrs. C. Gordon and G. Dowker, in the latter's Birds of East Kent, 1889. The specimen was killed near Dover Castle. It was, or now is, in the collection of Mr. W. Prentis.'
Ticehurst (1909: 76) says: 'Mr. S. Webb (Brit. Assoc. Handb. to Dover, p. 104) states one to have been shot (sometime prior to 1889) by Gordon in Castle Meadow, Dover. This specimen is also recorded, with less detail by Dowker. It was purchased from Gordon by Prentis, and is still in his collection at Rochester, where I have examined it. It agrees perfectly with skins in my collection from Germany, and is apparently a female.'
Comment Both Ticehurst and Harrison quote the British Association as the source of this record but I cannot find the reference to it in there at all! As Ticehurst was Witherby's assistant I think it safe to accept his examination.
0). 1891 Cumbria Between Orton and Thurstonfield, three, 26th November.
(Macpherson, 1892; E. Blezard, Transactions of the Carlisle Natural History Society 1943 (6): 43).
History Macpherson (1892: 105-106) says: 'On the 26th November 1891, that accurate and cautious naturalist, Mr. Tom Duckworth, came across a drove of about a dozen Long-tailed Titmice in a lane between Orton and Thurstonfield. The morning was bright and frosty; the light was excellent. Three of the tits were conspicuously distinguished by their pure white heads. They were not at all wild, and permitted of a close inspection. Mr. Duckworth followed the birds up and down the lane for some time, endeavouring without success to knock down one of the white-headed birds. Having thus failed to obtain a specimen, he came to me to see a skin of the continental bird, to ascertain whether the tints of the body-colour were precisely identical. He assures me that such was the case; but whether the strangers had yellow eyelids could not of course be ascertained. The fact of three individuals occurring together materially strengthens the evidence of this excellent ornithologist.'
Ernest Blezard (1943) in the Transactions of the Carlisle Natural History Society, Vol. VI. p. 43, says: 'On November 26th, 1891, in a lane between Orton and Thurstonfield, Tom Duckworth came across a party of about a dozen Long-tailed Tits. Three of the birds were very distinctive, having pure white heads. He tried to secure one of them but failed. On visiting H. A. Macpherson, he examined his cabinet of skins of Tits, and assured him he had seen the continental race.'
0). 1896 Surrey Near Reigate, obtained, no date.
(Bucknill, 1900; Wheatley, 2007).
History Bucknill (1900: 53) says: 'Mr. J. H. Gurney informs me that a specimen of the Continental type (with white head) was shot near Reigate in 1896 (in litt.).'
0). 1905 Yorkshire Kirkham Abbey, seen, 18th March.
(H. G. Alexander, Zoologist 1906: 149; Mather, 1986; Wilson & Slack, 1996).
History H. G. Alexander of Tunbridge Wells (1906) in The Zoologist, 4th series, Vol. X. p. 149, says: 'Near Kirkham Abbey, in Yorkshire, on March 18th, 1905, I saw a Long-tailed Tit, of which I obtained an exceptionally near view, enabling me clearly to see that it entirely lacked the black line over the eye, the whole head being pure white. It was in company with birds of the ordinary British type.'
0). 1912 Essex Bradfield, two, seen, 22nd March.
(W. B. Nichols, British Birds 5: 328; W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 32: 177; BOU, 1915; W. B. Nichols, Journal of the Suffolk Institute 16: 171; Glegg, 1929; Witherby et al., 1940-52).
History Walter B. Nichols (1912) in British Birds, Vol. V. p. 328, says: 'I saw on March 22nd, 1912, in the parish of Bradfield, Essex, a pair of white-headed Long-tailed Tits. I had them under observation for about ten minutes, sometimes within ten yards of me, using a pair of Voigtlander prism binoculars magnifying twelve diameters. One bird had an absolutely white head, the other I am not quite sure about, but if it had any stripe on the head at all it must have been very faint. The white head of the one I saw best was quite clean-cut from the back - I mean, there were no stripes where the head and neck joined the back and sides. The whole bird seemed lighter and brighter than our English birds in general; the breast and under-parts much whiter, the red on back and shoulders more vivid. The tail seemed to me longer, but it is very difficult to judge on such a point. I have never been in northern Europe, and have no skins to refer to, but the birds were strikingly different from any Long-tailed Tits I have seen before. I may say that what attracted my attention was their note - a harsh "chissick", something like that of a Wagtail. They were flying fairly high when I heard the note first, and dropped down into a stunted oak on the shore of the estuary (Stour). I think there can be little doubt that they were Acredula caudata caudata.'
W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Editor (1913) in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, Vol. XXXII. p. 177, on the unexpected occurrences for 1912, says: 'Two seen, Bradfield (Essex), March 22nd.'
W. B. Nichols (1916) in the Journal of the Suffolk Institute, Vol. XVI. p. 170, says: 'White-headed Long-tailed Titmouse (Aegithalos caudatus). I saw two of this species, 22.III.12, in some trees on the shore of the estuary at Nether Hall, Bradfield.'
Comment Glegg (1929) was of the opinion that a first record for Essex should not be admitted unless a specimen has been obtained.
0). 1921 Sussex Hampden Park, Eastbourne, two or three, seen, 22nd December.
(Arnold, 1936; Walpole-Bond, 1938; Shrubb, 1979).
History Walpole-Bond (1938 (1): 304) says: '...I do not think that mistakes, even in the field, would be in the least possible, and so we may fearlessly accept the record from Arnold's Birds of Eastbourne, p. 26, of that excellent naturalist Mr. R. Morris to the effect that on December 22nd, 1921, he detected two or three specimens close to Eastbourne.'
0). 1922 Sussex Hampden Park, Eastbourne, seen, 24th February; presumed same as 1921.
(Arnold, 1936; Walpole-Bond, 1938; Shrubb, 1979).
History Walpole-Bond (1938 (1): 304) says: '...I do not think that mistakes, even in the field, would be in the least possible, and so we may fearlessly accept the record from Arnold's Birds of Eastbourne, p. 26, of that excellent naturalist Mr. R. Morris...and again a "singleton" also near Eastbourne, on the following 24th February [1922]. In all likelihood this lone bird was one of the original lot.'
0). 1948 Sussex Handcross, seen, 22nd January.
(J. Alan Smith, British Birds 41: 308-309, G. des Forges, Sussex Bird Report 1948: 7; Shrubb, 1979).
History J. Alan Smith (1948) in British Birds, Vol. XLI. pp. 308-309, says: 'On January 22nd, 1948, in the vicinity of Handcross, Sussex, I saw a Northern Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos c. caudatus). In flight the pale appearance was very striking. It stayed in the branches of an oak for about ten minutes, when the "snowy" whiteness of head, cheeks and nape was exceedingly noticeable, also the paler appearance of the wings, due to the wider margin of white on the secondaries,
Walpole-Bond (History of Sussex Birds) mentions two or three white-headed birds seen near Eastbourne in the winter 1921-22.'
[There seems no good reason for not accepting a sight record of this very well-marked form, when the bird is well and clearly seen and described, as in the present case. The only element of doubt - which applies equally to records based on specimens obtained - is in respect of the subspecific name which can properly be applied to such birds, since, as Stresemann has shown (Beitr. Zoogeograph. paläarkt. Reg. (1919), and cf. Handbuch d. deutsch. Vogelkunde, Bd. I, pp 234-5), white-headed birds occur with more or less in populations of the so-called Central European race, A. c. europaeus, which he regards as a mixed stock of inconstant characters occupying the region between the range of the true northern A. c. caudatus and the dark-headed races of the west and south of Europe. – Eds.]
0). 1949 Sussex Peasmarsh, seen, 19th to 23rd November.
(W. J. Bradbury, British Birds 43: 118; Shrubb, 1979).
History W. J. Bradbury (1950) in British Birds, Vol. XLIII. pp. 117-118, says: 'From November 19th to 23rd, 1949, a Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) with a white head paid visits to my garden at Peasmarsh, E. Sussex. It was seen several times each day (except on the 23rd) either on the rose and other bushes or at a bone suspended six feet outside one of the windows. Observations were made at very close quarters, both by naked eye and with binoculars. Its whole head and throat, except for a small dark spot on the crown of the head, were pure white, without any markings on the sides, giving it a very striking appearance. The white throat shaded into a greyish white breast and the abdomen and flanks appeared to be tawny. The wings and tail were dark brown, with grey edges to the primaries and secondaries, the back dark brown shading into brownish grey rump. The tail feathers showed no white margins.'
[As pointed out with reference to another recent record of a Long-tailed Tit with a white head (antea, Vol. XII. p. 308) it is difficult to exclude the possibility that such birds seen in Britain may be white-headed examples of the Central European A. c. europaeus rather than the true Northern race, A. c. caudatus (cf. also antea, Vol. XLII. p. 164). In the present case the small dark mark on the crown and the fact that the secondaries did not show prominent white seem to point to the first-mentioned possibility. - Eds.]
0). 1952 Sussex Iden, near Rye, 20th March.
(Shrubb, 1979).
History Shrubb (1979) says: 'Birds showing characters of one of the white-headed races of Long-tailed Tit, either caudatus or europaeus have been recorded as follows: Iden, 20th March 1952.'
Comment However, this record is not recorded in the Sussex Bird Report for 1952.
0). 1954 Greater London/Surrey Near Chelsham, 18th April to 19th June.
(H. E. Pound, British Birds 48: 92; Wheatley, 2007).
[Self, 2014].
History Hubert E. Pound (1955) in British Birds, Vol. XLVIII. p. 92, says: 'On 18th April 1954, on the North Downs near Chelsham, Surrey, I watched a pair of Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus) engaged in building their nest amongst bramble tendrils at the side of a lane.
At the time, I considered that one of the birds possessed an unusually pale head, but the position of the nest coupled with poor lighting prevented my getting a good view of it. To my dismay, on visiting the site on 8th May, I found that the nest had been "ragged".
Fortunately, on 19th June 1954, I succeeded in tracing this pair's repeat nest which contained young, and was then able to obtain satisfactory close-range views of both parents. One was typical of the British form (A. c. rosaceus), but the other had a dingy white head which lacked all trace of a broad blackish band extending from the lores over the eye to the mantle. Its head, moreover, appeared devoid of any dusky streaks. The orbital ring, however, was reddish. Apart from its white head it resembled its mate both in size and plumage. On subsequent visits to the nest, I noticed that three adults including the white-headed bird were engaged in feeding the young which left the nest safely on 27th June. A specimen of the Northern race (A. c. caudatus) is recorded as having been obtained near Reigate in 1896 (Bucknill, Birds of Surrey, 1900, p. 53.). Mr. Howard Bentham tells me that he has no record of the occurrence of this form in the county during the present century.'
Self (2014) says: 'One at Chelsham in April 1954 was thought to be a pale-headed bird of the British race.'
