Coal Tit

"Coal tit" by Aviceda - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coal_tit_UK09.JPG#/media/File:Coal_tit_UK09.JPG

I have enjoyed seeing the coal tits, Periparus ater, return to the feeders in the garden over the last few weeks. They are rarer than the other two common garden tits and generally prefer areas with conifers. They are about the size of blue tits but have a distinctive white cheek and white patch on the back of the head extending to the nape of the neck. They have a distinctive song which sounds like a slurred great tit call and it is this that usually alerts you to their presence, especially in mixed conifer/broadleaved woodland.