blue tit fledgling call (1 Viewer)

[Dialyt]

I live in Ireland. The last couple of days I heard, coming from the branches of a pear tree, the apparent fledgling call of blue tit. It seemed to be one individual, from the same tree, over several days. I didn't have my bins to hand to check. I think it is too early for baby blue tits to leave the nest. So I was wondering could this be the begging call of the adult female as part of some courtship thing? Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Dialyt]

Well I found out what it was: it was a pair of coal tits. The female was wing quivering, and calling like a baby, and being fed by the male. I'd have thought the female would be on eggs at this stage but obviously not.

 

[KnockerNorton]

This is the 'begging call' of the female, and all tits do it - it is similar to the fledgling begging call (but often more creaky), and is given by the female to demand food from the male during the egg laying period and also during incubation. They wing-flutter too, just like juvs, as you saw. The female needs more resources when making and laying eggs, and needs supplementary feeding by the male during breaks in incubation (as she doesn't have the usual amount of time to feed). They are often incubating for about 15-30 mins and off the nest for about 5-10 mins, so these calls are heard right up until the eggs hatch. The male usually collects the female from the nest, with special contact calls, and they depart together to feed nearby.

This begging probably makes the females vulnerable though, as they're more obvious to sparrowhawks with the constant noise, and there is significant predation of females at this time.

 

[Dialyt]

Thanks, that's pretty cool!