Birds

This morning, I saw several blue tits (parus caeruleus) on the ledge outside our bedroom window. The European blue tit is a more colorful version of the North American chickadee, with a blue head and wings, olive-green back, and yellow breast. "Tit" is the common short form of "titmouse," which comes from the Old English for "small bird." I had great hopes of learning to identify English birds, but so far I have become familiar with only a few: magpies, wood pigeons, robins, and now, blue tits.