Wildlife Garden DecoBird Long-tailed Tit 12 cm hand-carved & hand-painted

At a glance

• hand-carved and hand-painted long-tailed tit made of linden wood
• Model: Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
• characteristic combination of a small, round body and an exceptionally long tail
• finely detailed black-and-white and soft pink plumage patterns
• hand-painted with water-based paint
• Length: 12 cm
• Weight: only approx. 37 g
• for indoor use
• includes booklet with information about the bird species
• gift box with viewing window

Product details

• Brand: Wildlife Garden
• Series: DecoBird
• Bird species: Long-tailed tit
• Scientific name: Aegithalos caudatus
• Item number: WG420
• EAN: 7350054761895
• Material: Linden wood
• Paint: Water-based paint
• Length: 12 cm
• Width: 7.6 cm
• Height: 4.8 cm
• Weight: approx. 37 g
• Use: Indoor
• Packaging: Gift box with viewing window
• Other: Booklet with information about the bird species

A little ball of feathers with an amazingly long tail

The long-tailed tit has a body shape that is almost impossible to confuse with any other native bird species. The actual body is small and round, followed by a remarkably long tail.

Wildlife Garden describes it very aptly as a small, chubby ball of feathers with a long tail. It is precisely these unusual proportions that make the hand-carved DecoBird instantly recognizable.

The long-tailed tit – Aegithalos caudatus

Despite its German name, the long-tailed tit is not a "true" tit of the Paridae family, which includes the great tit and the blue tit. It belongs to its own family, the long-tailed tits.

Its appearance is correspondingly unique: a very small beak, a round body, and an exceptionally long tail in relation to it.

The plumage consists of a fine mixture of white, black, and soft pink to reddish-brown tones.

Rarely really on its own

Long-tailed tits are extremely sociable birds. Outside the breeding season, they can often be observed in small groups, moving through trees and shrubs together in search of food.

In doing so, the individual birds stay in contact with one another. Anyone who spots a long-tailed tit outside should therefore stay and watch for a moment longer – it is often not on its own.

An extraordinary nest

The long-tailed tit is also remarkable when it comes to building its nest. It constructs a closed, elastic nest that is carefully integrated and camouflaged within the vegetation.

Various plant materials, lichen, and spider webs are used for construction; inside, feathers provide a soft lining.

For such a small bird, this is an astonishingly elaborate construction.

12 centimeters long – and yet only 37 grams

The DecoBird measures 12 × 7.6 × 4.8 cm and weighs just around 37 g.

The combination of length and weight is particularly interesting in the case of the long-tailed tit. The 12 cm is essentially created by the long tail – the actual bird body remains extremely compact.

This makes the figurine look delicate and requires very little space on a shelf, windowsill, desk, or dresser.

Hand-carved from linden wood

Wildlife Garden carves the long-tailed tit by hand from linden wood. This finely and evenly textured wood is particularly well-suited for small figurative works and the fine contours of a bird's body.

Each DecoBird is then painted by hand with water-based paints. With the long-tailed tit, it is less about bold colors and more about the fine transitions between white, black, and the soft, warm plumage tones.

Since this is handmade and involves a natural material, small differences in the wood structure, carving, and painting may occur.

For indoor use

According to the current usage recommendations for the DecoBird series, the hand-carved long-tailed tit is intended for indoor use.

Due to its small size, it can easily be presented on its own. However, this bird species also looks particularly beautiful together with a second long-tailed tit or other small DecoBirds – after all, its natural counterpart is also extremely sociable.

With a booklet about the bird species

The DecoBird comes with a booklet containing information about the long-tailed tit. The figure is delivered in a gift box with a viewing window.

In this way, Wildlife Garden combines the hand-carved wooden figure with information about its natural counterpart, even with this small bird.

My assessment

I particularly like the long-tailed tit because of its proportions. With a great tit, blue tit, or robin, one generally expects the body shape that one eventually sees in front of one. The long-tailed tit immediately breaks this mold.

A small round body, a tiny beak, and then that amazingly long tail – Wildlife Garden didn't actually have to stage anything here. Nature had already provided the unusual shape.

At only 37 g, it is also one of the lighter and more delicate DecoBirds. For this very reason, I wouldn't place it among large decorative objects. On a shelf or a windowsill, where its silhouette can be clearly seen, its special shape comes across much better.