Kingdom Animalia (Animals) ➔ Phylum Chordata (Chordates) ➔ Class Aves (Birds) ➔ Order Passeriformes (Passerines (perching birds or songbirds)) ➔ Family Paridae (Chickadees and true tits)

 Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Blaumeise  Blue Tit

Synonyms:

Parus caeruleus Linnaeus, 1758 |


The story behind the fight pictures of Blue Tits

During a walk in the Chemnitzer Zeisigwald through one of the parallel trenches, which are relicts of the former military use of the area, I heard a rustling in the foliage. I stalked slowly to the place of the incident. On the ground was a Blue Tit, which helplessly hit with the wings. It was not clear by what or whom it was held (1st picture).
My presence did not go unnoticed. The startled little blue bundle suddenly split into two Blue Tits flying away from me in perfect symmetry. The birds changed direction in a height slightly above 2 m, flew horizontally towards each other and collided in the middle. After that, the entangled Blue Tits fell vertically downwards and immediately began the ground fight (2nd and 3rd picture). At the same time, a third Blue Tit sitting on a branch changed into a more secure spectator position.
After I had crossed the flight distance again when I approached, the two Blue Tits flew away from me to the left and right, changed direction and flew horizontally towards each other at a height of almost 3 m. After the clash in the air, the tits fell perpendicularly to the ground and continued their fight (rest of pictures). The third tit followed the other two and chosed a branch a little farther away from me with a good view of the battle.
As I approached the fighting tits again, the whole process repeated. I was still able to follow the collision of the fighting Blue Tits in the air. The landing then took place outside my field of vision behind the wall of the trench, where the described event happened.