Great Tit [Parus Major]

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In this video, we learn about the great tit.

Quick facts:

• Lifespan: 3 years
• Average size: 13 cm (5 in)
• Average weight: 18 g (1 oz)
• Average wingspan: 24 cm (9.4 in)
• Family: Paridae

Description:

It is a large distinctive tit with a rounded, puffy appearance. The great tit bears a bluish-black crown and a black face with white cheeks and ear coverts. It has a yellow breast with a black stripe running down the centre.

The back is olive-green, and the tail is blue-grey. The wings are mostly blue-grey with green coverts and white wing bars. The female is duller than the male, and the young are similar to the female.

There are 15 subspecies of the great tit, each with slight variations in colour and physical form.

Sounds & vocals:

They are vocal birds with up to forty different vocalisations, including soft “chit” and “pit” single notes contact calls and loud “tink” alarm calls. A well-known territorial call is the two-note “eueek eueek” call that sounds like a squeaky wheel.

Distribution & Habitat:

The great tit is widespread across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It inhabits open deciduous woodland, forests, and gardens.

Diet:

They are predominantly insectivorous, feeding on a wide range of invertebrates, including cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, ants, beetles, bees, and wasps.

They also feed on spiders, snails, and woodlice. When invertebrates become scarce during winter, they eat berries, fruit, and seeds.

Did you know?

Great tits are known to display considerable intelligence and insightful problem-solving abilities in the pursuit of food.

Reproduction:

Great tits are monogamous and territorial breeders, although extra-pair paternity is not uncommon. They are cavity nesters, typically nesting in trees, but sometimes in crevices along walls, rock faces, and even nest boxes.

They line the nest with plant materials, grasses, moss, hair, and feathers. Females lay around twelve eggs on average but may lay as many as eighteen. The incubation period lasts up to 15 days. The chicks are cared for by both parents and begin to fledge at around 22 days.

Relationship with humans:

They are popular garden birds that readily accept nest boxes, making them easy to observe and study. Garden observations of these birds have provided valuable data in studies pertaining to clutch size and other evolutionary traits.

They are well adapted to human habitations and are common in urban areas.

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