White-crowned Penduline Tit Remiz coronatus

The Penduline Tit species are so named as they make suspended nests of soft materials like wool, fur and plant fibres bound with strong, sticky spiders' web. The nests, above, are so strong, warm and cosy that they used to be sought to fashion slippers for human use. There is usually an entrance spout, often sealed with web, and one species even makes a false entrance spout to foil predators. The cleverly-constructed nests, including the above, are often bound with growing twigs/leaves for camouflage and suspended over water on a river/stream/lake bank.

The White-crowned Penduline Tit, here emerging from its nest, is native to Central Asia, Russia, the northern part of the Indian sub-continent and western China. Male and female have similar plumage and both feed the young in the nest.