Talk:Eurasian penduline tit

Feeding on bulrush seeds

Cramp & Perrins 1993 (BWP Vol VII p. 381) mentions that the Eurasian penduline tit will feed on bulrush seeds (Typha) after removing a clump of seeds from the head with a foot. On 12 Mar 2022 the ornithologist Mike Lane posted a video to YouTube here which includes slow-motion footage of a Eurasian penduline tit pulling out clumps of seeds. The bird appears to be looking for insects rather than eating the seeds. As Lane points out, the specialized bulrush bug (Chilacis typhae) overwinters inside the seed heads. The Eurasian penduline tit is normally insectivorous and this made me wonder just how solid the evidence was for it feeding on bulrush seeds. BWP cites Hertzog, L. 1955 Ornithologische Mitteilungen 7 53–54 - which is here. It isn't clear whether Hertzog would have been able to detect whether the bird was eating seeds or insects. The observation that a bird could be located by the clumps of seeds blowing in the wind is a point also made by Lane. BWP cites two other articles (by Löhrl) that discuss the use of a foot when grasping clumps of seeds. According to BWP the Eurasian penduline tit eats plant material in winter when insects are scarce - seeds of poplar (Populus), willow (Salix), and reeds (Phragmites and Typha). - Aa77zz (talk) 11:02, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

A video posted to YouTube on 16 Jan 2022 by "john l uk" with the title "Penduline Tits in Somerset 2022 #1" suggests that the Eurasian peduline tits feed on the larvae of the shy cosmet moth Limnaecia phragmitella in the Typha seedheads - see here. - Aa77zz (talk) 12:26, 15 March 2022 (UTC)