Country diary: An eruption of the most delightful, sociable 'bumbarrels' | Jim Perrin

Llandrindod Wells, Powys: Moving in joyful groups through the copse, long-tailed tits are admirably cooperative, the perfect paradigm of a mutually helpful societySuddenly, out of the margins of a thorn thicket that surrounds the common, a flock of long-tailed tits, 20- or 30-strong, erupts into darting, swirling flight, borne along on a soft and eager susurrus of liquid call-notes. I love th ese little birds, so tiny, so vulnerable, so active, so tribally cooperative in their nesting and breeding, so charming in their twirling round the small branches of the copse.In terms of size, without those long tail feathers this tiny bird might well rank as our smallest avian species, but the tail, which it folds over its head in the nest, gives a misleading impression of one of our absolute featherweights. It is truly minute. Continue reading...