Tag nestling

Great Tit Fledgling

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The Great Tit (Parus major) is a common and widespread passerine bird in the Paridae family. It is found throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa. It is not migratory.

The Great Tit has a distinctive black head and neck, large white cheeks, olive upperparts and yellow underparts. Its wings are green to blue-grey with white wing-bars. The tail is blue-grey with white tips. Its beak is short and black. It grows to about 13 centimetres (5 inches) tall.

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Pigeon Chicks (Squabs)

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A female pigeon (Columba livia domestica) can breed at any time of the year, but mostly in spring and summer.

Their nest is made of straw and sticks, laid on a ledge, often on the window ledges of buildings.

Females lay two white eggs.

Male and female pigeons take turns to sit on the eggs for 17-19 days.

Baby pigeons are called squabs.

The newly hatched chicks are called hatchlings or nestlings.

Chicks are altricial, which means that they are born naked, blind, and helpless.

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Stages of a bird’s life

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What are the stages of a bird’s life?

A bird starts its life in an egg.

A baby bird is called a chick.

When the chick hatches out of the egg is called a hatchling or a nestling. The bird is usually bald and blind, which is called altricial.

The hatchling begins to grow soft fluffy feathers, called down feathers, and flight feathers.

After the chick has taken its first flight it is called a fledgling. Fledglings still live in their parent’s nest and are fed by their parents for several weeks.

When the chicks are able to fly, they are adult birds.

 

 

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM