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Bushtit
Although subject to eastern grey squirrel predation, the gourd-shaped nests of the common bushtit may be seen hanging from branches in the David C. Lam Asian Garden.
The bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) is the only species of long-tailed tit in British Columbia, and its range extends down the Pacific coast to California. These small brown birds are unremarkable except that about half their 9cm length is tail! They feed on insects and small berries, and outside the breeding season go about in small groups. The hanging nests, woven out of a variety of materials including mosses and spider's webs, may be up to 30cm (1 foot) long.
