Blackthorn Great Tit

This dapper-looking great tit was singing away in a blackthorn tree. The very sharp thorns can be seen. I once ended up in A&E when I was using a very old, large and powerful Hayter mower and drove one right into a finger at speed. Blackthorn is so-called because of its dark bark. In Ireland it's used for making shillelaghs (rhymes with ukuleles) which are club-ended fighting sticks.

I think my great tit might be a male as it has quite a wide stripe down its breast. It was singing one of the less common of the around forty calls that they make. A birder friend told me that if I think I hear an unusual bird singing it will often be a great tit.