long tailed tit sitting on a branch

The long-tailed tit has a spherical-round almost tubby appearance and a characteristically long tail, which enables it to hold its balance perfectly on the tiniest tip of the most delicate branches. The birds often resemble tiny feather-balls that can be seen bouncing up and down especially during the cold season of the year. Long-tailed tits are very social animals which form flocks of 20 to 30 individuals when not in breeding season. These flocks stick together, e.g. defending a certain territory.

Long-tailed tits are mostly found in sparse forests, forest edges as well as community parks rich in plenty of undergrowth. There they find hiding places for their elaborately designed and complex nests which take about a month to be created by the breeding pair. Building materials include mosses, lichen, spider webs, plant stalks and lots of cosy feathers. In case you want to attract long-tailed tits to your garden, it is usually not a good idea to invest in nesting aids which are mostly not accepted, but to help these birds during the cold season with appropriate supplementary feeding in bird feeders. This way I could attract this beautiful individual I chose for my drawing.

Dimensions & medium:
Medium: Faber Castell polychromos
Paper: Strathmore Toned Gray sketch paper
Size: 9 in x 12 in