Appearance
This small representative of the genus of the tit family has a body length of up to 12 centimeters with a weight of only 15 grams. The upper part of the body is painted in a grayish-brown color, which flows to the bottom into a lighter shade. The sides of the birds have a more brownish tint. The color of the wings and tail is uniformly brown.
A remarkable feature of the black-headed tit is the characteristic color of the head. The entire area of the head up to the line of the eyes is represented by a contrasting black cap with a brilliant sheen, which gradually tapers to the base of the neck area. There is a small dark spot under the beak. The beak itself is black with a gray edging of the mandible. Paws have a bluish-gray tint. You can distinguish a young chick from an adult bird by the nature of the coloring of the feathers. The chicks are painted in predominantly light shades, and the cap on the head is duller and more matte. Some representatives of the blackheaded nuts who live on the territory of the Western Caucasus have a longer tail and a large amount of gray tones in plumage.
In appearance, the blackheaded nut has many similarities with a brownheaded nut puff. The difference lies in a number of main features, namely in the proportionality of the head and body, the color of the cap and the plain brown of the color of the wings of the blackheaded nut. By these main features, you can easily distinguish representatives of the genus.
Habitat
The population of the blackheaded nut covers the forest zone of Eurasia. The isolated subspecies of the Blackheaded nut settled the territory of the Caucasus. A small part of the population of these birds is located in Western Siberia. In terms of habitat, deciduous forests and thickets of poplars or bird cherry prefer. They can settle in swampy lowlands. Some species are found in dry gardens.
These birds are predominantly sedentary, but can fly over short distances.
Food
The diet of black-headed chickadees is very extensive and can include both small invertebrate insects and many plants. Most often, the bird prefers to eat various nuts, flowers and juicy fruits of many plants. If there is a birch or aspen in its habitat, then it feeds on the sap of these trees. By themselves, black-headed chickadees are very thrifty birds. From the end of summer, they actively look for food and hide it in various cracks and crevices.
reproduction
The nesting season lasts from March to June. As a rule, formed pairs last throughout life. Hollows of old trees or empty burrows are preferred as places for laying eggs. The selected nest must be at least 3 meters above the ground. The search and arrangement of housing is carried out mainly by the female. In order to expand the territory of the selected nest, she plucks pieces of wood from it. Then she lays up to 10 eggs with remarkable red dots in an equipped place. The incubation period lasts for 13 to 17 days. Both parents feed the hatched chicks. As a rule, small black-headed chickadees are in the nest for a little less than a month and another week after the first flight.
