A different sort of tit.........

This Great Tit has a problem, the image is heavily cropped but you may just make out that he has no tail feathers. With his partner they are busy feeding young a few yards away but he's very twitchy. Above him is a sparrow with full flying gear.

His tail feathers are so integral to his flight that he has had to adjust to new flight manoeuvres since he was born; he will fly completely differently to his peers as his fore and aft axis is unstable or destabilised by the lack of a tail. Imagine your holiday jet flogging along without a rudder control or ailerons and you can start to get the picture. This little beauty has to do everything with his wings, consequently he has enlarged breast musculature.

I'll try and get nearer but he's a sparky little thing. There's also a tailless Magpie around here, watching her is quite hilarious as it does exemplify what I just described. To see her sitting on a power line trying to keep her balance is like watching a drunk on a bar stool without a bar to keep him supported.