Hybrid parus major x caeruleus ? (1 Viewer)

saviornitho · Oct 6, 2009

Hello !

Could anyone identify this strange tit captured one week ago in a ringing station in switzerland ? This bird was between a group of blue tits (parus caeruleus)
The weight and the length of the primaries were too big for a blue tit !
Moreover, look at the strong beak...

Thanks !

Sy V · Oct 6, 2009

Very interesting bird.
Do you remember the weight and wing measurements? Because, as a trainee ringer I'd be fascinated.
Did you carry out a muscle/fat assessment and what (other than its sheer size and slightly heavier beak) made you suspect a hybrid rather than just a rather larger than normal Blue Tit?
I should add that I have limited IT access and am working off a tiny laptop with a particularly poor screen quality, on a course in Grmany.

sacha · Oct 6, 2009

Certainly does look like a hybrid Great x Blue Tit ! Dark bib and crown and darker wings than Blue Tit and the size and structure are similar to Great. I have never seen hybrid between the two. It is a strange looking thing!

Xenospiza · Oct 6, 2009

White sides of tail are also wrong for a Blue Tit and right for Great. Interesting!

nickderry · Oct 6, 2009

Don't know what a hybrid blue x great would throw up, but if azure and blue can interbreed, why not. However, I wouldn't expect a hybrid between the two to have such clean white areas around the crown/forehead, nor for it to lack some sort of breast stripe. I'd like the nape to be whiter too. But it's interesting to note that heavier beak and the blacker tone to the face markings and the white sides to the tail (!) giving the bird an odd look. Is it possible that this is in the range of blue tit?

saviornitho · Oct 7, 2009

Hello !

Thank you very much for your comments. I can't remember the fat, the muscle and the size of the primaries, sorry. But I remember that the weight was about 13-14 grammes. (therefore between Parus Caeruleus and P. Major !)
The measurements, the dark head, the strong beak and the white sides of tail maid us suspect a hybrid.
If anybody has got pictures of such a hybrid, please send me !

nickderry · Oct 7, 2009

such a thing does exist - there's an article in ornithos from a few years ago, sadly I don't have a copy of it. Here's a link - http://www.lpo.fr/ornithos/ornithos14-3.shtml

Hybrid parus major x caeruleus ? (1 Viewer)

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saviornitho

Jérémy Savioz

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Sy V

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sacha

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Xenospiza

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nickderry

C'est pas ma faute, je suis anglais.

saviornitho

Jérémy Savioz

nickderry

C'est pas ma faute, je suis anglais.

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