Tits and Finches in an Italian forest

Blue Tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, always cheer me up. Who doesn’t have their spirits lifted when they see a bright, tiny little bird going about its daily business of simply existing?

Blue Tit - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

They are fast moving. I’ve tried some slow motion video of them and I think it’s at about 1/4 speed that they finally have human-paced lives. There’s so much we still don’t know about their lives:

This Marsh Tit, Poecile palustris, looks particularly fine, here at Lago di Alviano.

Marsh Tit - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

I’ve tried taking their portraits before:

There’s a male Chaffinch, Frigilla coelebs, here. That’s a lovely blue and pink colour scheme he has going on there. Chaffinches are a personal favourite of mine.

Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Here’s what looks like a female but there’s that hint of blue on the back of the neck and the hint of pink on the breast. Could it be a young male?

Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

I think I need to improve my immature bird identification skills.

Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Don’t you?

Here are some of my favourite Chaffinch posts:

More Chaffinches

Male Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) Chaffink The word finch comes from the Middle English word fynch. This, in turn, comes from the Old English work finċ. And that? We… read more
Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) Beauty is only feather deep Chaffinches are common birds across Europe. The bright colours of the male Chaffinch include a beautiful deep salmon-pink face and… read more
Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) Male Chaffinch Chaffinches are one of my favourite birds. I've taken many photographs of them and blogged about them before. Here's my… read more
Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) Nesting material Someone appears to have brought their dog hair clippings to the park. Either that or there's been a horrendous dog… read more
Chaffinches mating - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) Sorry to intrude I spent a large part of my childhood going on nature walks. You never knew what you were going to… read more
Madeira - The Hall of Einar Observação de aves I don't speak Portuguese, but I guess what this sign means as I drive past. It's a blue bird and… read more
Chaffinch at Stover - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) I’m never going to complain about having sore feet again I love photographing Chaffinches. You have to get the exposure just right to show their plumage in all its glory.… read more
Chaffinch - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) ‘Pink!’ The nine vocalisation vocabulary of the Chaffinch There's a Chaffinch shouting 'Pink!' at me. That's where finches got their name; from their call of 'Fink' or 'Pink'.… read more
Chaffinch - Stover - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the) Chaffinch warts and dirty bird feeders Feeding birds artificially doesn't just change their behaviour, it changes their lives completely, from the number of eggs they lay,… read more

They are very impressive birds. Tomorrow I hope for brighter weather so I can take some better portraits.

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