Characterization of 20 microsatellite loci in the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus (Aegithalidae, AVES)

We characterized 20 microsatellite loci in the long-tailed tit, Aegithalos caudatus. Polymorphic loci were identified by testing 114 loci that had been originally isolated in other avian species. The loci were characterized in 23-163 unrelated long-tailed tits from a British population and displayed between two and 42 alleles, with observed heterozygosity ranging between 0.09 and 0.97.