The long-tailed tit is Zug's bird of the year

The Swiss bird of the year is the robin. Surprisingly, however, a somewhat lesser-known songbird seems to be the favourite in the canton of Zug.

It was a first: for the first time, the bird of the year 2025 was not chosen by a panel of experts, but by the population. From a list of five, the robin (Rotkehlchen) came out on top across Switzerland. But an analysis of the data for the canton of Zug paints a different picture, however. 110 people took part in the vote in Canton Zug, and they voted the long-tailed tit (Schwanzmeise) as Zug's favourite bird, with 27 votes. The next most popular birds in Zug were the robin (24 votes), the nuthatch (Kleiber 21 votes), the blackcap (20 votes) and the green woodpecker (18 votes).

The voters were also able to explain their choice. ‘Visually very beautiful, especially with its long tail, acrobatically gyrating’, is how one Zug resident described the long-tailed tit. ‘More rarely sighted than others,’ added someone else. ‘Because it's a delightful creature and you rarely get to see it - at least I don't.’ Nevertheless, this bird seems to be quite common in the canton of Zug. Another person from the canton of Zug wrote: ‘I was able to observe many long-tailed tits this summer and I really like them.’

The restless little gymnast
To characterise the long-tailed tit, Andreas Georg, President of Birdlife Zug, refers to corresponding descriptions from the Sempach Ornithological Institute. According to this, the long-tailed tit is one of the smallest bird species, but appears larger due to its long tail and fluffy plumage.

‘The birds are social, live in groups almost all year round and spend the night in roosting communities.’ A loud territorial song is missing in the long-tailed tit. ‘The almost constantly uttered, high-pitched calls usually give away the small, restless gymnasts in the branches before they can be seen,’ writes the ornithological institute. ‘Thanks to their low weight and long tail, which is used for balancing, long-tailed tits can climb skilfully to the outermost tips of branches.’ Andreas Georg also emphasises the great agility of these birds. Their ability to shimmy and hop on small branches is amazing.

Ursi Herzog from Oberwil is also a board member of Birdlife Zug. She says: ‘I once found a long-tailed tit nest lying on a forest path and took it home. It's an absolute work of art.’ The nest is so flexible that it virtually ‘grows’ as the young grow up.

Most popular with the people of Zug: the long-tailed tit                    Photo: zvg/Zuger Vogelschutz
Switzerland's favourite bird: the robin      Reader photo: Erich Würgler
A blackcap                                            Photo: Severin Bigler
A green woodpecker.                      Photo: Severin Bigler

For example in Villette Park in Cham
Andreas Georg explains that the long-tailed tit lives in small flocks of up to 30 individuals outside of the breeding season. ‘These show strong cohesion and claim a certain territory, which is defended against other flocks.’ In the canton of Zug, the long-tailed tit is usually found at lower altitudes in groups of bushes, often close to Lake Zug or watercourses, but also in parks such as Villette Park in Cham.

Ursi Herzog reports that she recently observed long-tailed tits in a tree in the Choller nature reserve - on the path that leads through the small bays by the lake. Sightings are certainly also possible along the old Lorze. ‘I've also seen them on trees by the lake between Zug and Oberwil and repeatedly in the forest. So they are definitely present, but it helps if you can recognise their calls.’

More ‘disorder’ is needed
What can the people of Zug do to ensure that the long-tailed tit and other songbirds can still be encountered here in Switzerland? Ann Walter from Birdlife Switzerland emphasises the importance of structural diversity: more native shrubs, bushes and perennials should be planted in gardens. ‘More disorder’ is called for. For example, faded plants should be left standing wherever possible. This helps the insects because they can find habitats and opportunities to hibernate: ‘Anything that helps the insects also helps the birds.’

And - actually a matter of course in 2025: ‘No insecticides and pesticides.’ It has also become an evergreen that animal traps should be made as harmless as possible. Glass, for example, should be made ‘visible’. Ursi Herzog from Birdlife Zug also points out another - often tricky - point: you have to make sure that birds are protected from cats.

The most popular bird in Switzerland
Unsurprisingly, the robin is also very popular in the canton of Zug: ‘It can be found in our garden,’ wrote someone. Another person from the canton of Zug describes this bird as a ‘personal lucky charm’. ‘It comes to my terrace here in the city of Zug in winter when it's hungry, right in the centre of the city,’ noted one person from the city of Zug.

The following comment on the blackcap (Mönchsgrasmücke) is also nice: ‘Its song has accompanied me all summer on my way to work.’ So you can also encounter these birds in the partly densely populated economic canton - if you keep your eyes and ears open. The blackcap is the bird with the pretty cap, someone noted: ‘You hear it so often, its song is memorable, at least the flourish at the end.’

Green woodpecker in Zug cemetery
It may come as something of a surprise that the green woodpecker (Grünspecht) can apparently also be found in urban areas in the canton of Zug. ‘When I visited the cemetery, I saw it at seven in the morning. Beautiful’, someone wrote. It remains unclear which cemetery is involved. One consolation for interested birdwatchers: the canton of Zug only has eleven municipalities and therefore not very many cemeteries.

But there is an easier way. Ursi Herzog says: ‘I live in Oberwil just below the clinic and hear the mating call of the green woodpecker several times a day - a kind of loud laughter. The green woodpecker drums much less often than its colleagues the great spotted woodpecker and black woodpecker to defend its territory and attract females.’