Looking out of the window this evening, I spotted a small bird sitting in one of the plants. The long tail made it clearly a Long-tailed tit, but it didn’t have the reddy-pinky colour to its chest feathers that the adults normally do.
Long-tailed tits feed on insects, and that particular shrub that it was working through, has been covered in blackfly for a little while. This particular long-tailed tit was clearly a youngster that maybe needed a little more practise at hunting for its supper in a plant like this!
Once it stopped hunting the flies and stared straight at the window, I got a clear view of the head feather colouring, which definitely made this bird a juvenile. Hopefully it enjoyed the evening’s feast!