Two Japanese ornithologists observed complex body language in the Chinese tit. A flapping of wings could be compared to ‘after you’ in humans.
Rapidly flapping its wings to encourage another individual to enter first would be a symbolic gesture. The study was led by two Japanese researchers, Toshitaka Suzuki and Norimasa Sugita. They observed eight pairs of tits around a nest box for eleven days. The female arrives near the nest box, with food in her beak, and positions herself within sight of the male.