The rarest bird on the island at the moment is this coal tit, which is the
first Barra record in two years. Before I saw it, I had hoped that it
might be the continental race Periparus ater ater, but it clearly isn't, so I just put it down as the normal British coal tit.
However,
after posting my images of this bird elsewhere, I have been contacted by a
ringing friend who suggests that the obvious sulphur yellow cheeks make this a
good candidate for P.a. hibernicus or Irish coal tit, a race that I'd not even considered previously.
The sulphur yellow cheeks are visible in most of these photos. The white patch on the nape also seems to have a yellow tinge. Whatever race it is, it's a smart looking bird.
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