periparus (from peri, very, all-around, and parus, tit) ater (dull black)
Friday, April 19, 2019 — 5:28 pm
Murren, Switzerland
We’d finished our walking tour of Murren and were heading back to our hotel when we stopped to watch a large group of tourists taking photos in a small grass plot on the edge of the cliff. I happened to spot two small birds land in a dead pine along the road.
They looked like chickadees, with classic black and white coloring. The black bib on the neck was wide and uneven. But I saw the defining characteristic when one of the birds tipped its head forward, giving me a great view of the broad white strip up the back of its black head.
