Order: Passerines
Perching Birds
(Passeriformes)
All birds in the tit family are very acrobatic. They can hang upside down on twigs and hop and flutter around energetically in search of food.
This family includes :
Blue Tit
Parus caeruleus
This tiny bird has a bright blue crown, wings and tail, and a yellow belly. It has a pretty little face with white cheeks and a black strip across the eyes.
It is also known as the Tom-Tit.
Blue Tits spend a lot of time in the trees, and hardly ever come down to the ground.
Habitat
Blue Tits can be found in all sorts of habitats, including woodland, hedgerows and gardens.
Food
They often visit gardens, especially if food is on offer!
They search in the branches and leaves, for insects, spiders, buds and seeds.
Blue Tits are popular because they destroy insect pests such as greenfly and aphids.
In the autumn they also eat berries. In the winter, when it is difficult to find insects, Blue Tits eat mainly oily seeds.
Blue Tits make their nest out of moss, wool and feathers. They nest in a hole in trees or walls, or in odd places like old water pumps or letterboxes.
The eggs are white, spotted with light red, and eight are laid in April or May.
Where and When?
Blue Tits can be found all over Britain all year long. Some of them migrate, arriving here in March then leaving around September time.
Their song is made up of two or three high squeaky notes and a trill.
11 cm.
Great Tit
Parus major
The Great Tit is very bright and lively, and is the largest of the Titmice family. It looks quite like the Blue Tit, but it is bigger, and has a black head, apart from the white cheek patches. It has a dark black stripe through the yellow feathers from its chin down its tummy to its tail.
It flies in a jerky scattered pattern. It is good at climbing branches. Unlike the blue-tit, it can often be seen on the ground, in search of food.
It can be found in woods, hedges, gardens, parks and mountains, as long as trees are present.
Food
The Great Tit eats insects, oily seeds, nuts and fruit. It has a larger and stronger beak than other Tits, and so it can eat more acorns, sweet chestnut and hazelnuts.
The Great Tit builds a nest of moss, hair and feathers, in a hole in a tree, wall or in a water pump, flowerpot or letterbox. It will lay about eight eggs in April, May or June, and lays two batches of eggs each year.
Great Tits are found throughout Britain, all year round. Some of them migrate, heading off to the sun in September or October. Many return in March.
Great Tits make a wide range of calls. Its song is made up of rhythmical, sharp, metallic sounds.
Fun Fact
In the autumn you can hear the sound of acorns being hammered by Great Tits, as they try to crack them open with their beaks.
Long-tailed Tit
Aegithalos caudatus
This is a tiny bird, but for its very long tail. The tail is black and white, and the rest of the body is white, black and tinged with pink.
Like all Tits, this is an acrobatic little bird. It hunts for insects in groups of about six birds. Each bird helps the others by keeping an eye out for predators.
Habitat
Long-tailed Tits are often found in parks, gardens, hedgerows and broad-leaved woodlands.
Food
Long-tailed Tits eat mostly small aphids (a type of insect).
Nest and Eggs
Long-tailed Tits makes a delicate little nest out of moss, lichens, wool and spiders' webs, lined with hundreds of soft feathers.
The nest is deep and dome-shaped, and the entrance is at the side, near to the top. The nest is usually built low down in trees, bushes or brambles.
The eggs are white, and speckled with light red. When the eggs have hatched, both parent birds, as well as about 12 chicks, all squeeze together inside the cosy nest at night.
Where and When?
The Long-tailed Tit can be found throughout Britain, all year long. Some of them leave Britain in September, and return any time between February and April.
Call/Song
They make soft "tsee-tsee" calls or a rolling "tsirr". The call helps to keep the group together when out and about.
Length
14 cm.
Fun Fact
Long-tailed Tits can be found in many of the same areas as Great Tits and Blue Tits.
Coal Tit
Parsus ater
The top of the head and face of this little bird is black, and it looks as though it has been sticking its head into a pile of coal. At the back of the head, there is a white patch.
Its back is grey-brown, and the underside and cheeks are white.
Habitat
Coal Tits live mainly in forests of conifer trees. In Britain they can also be found is mixed woods and in large gardens where fir trees grow.
Food
Coal Tits use their sharp little beaks to pick out small insects from among pine needles. Although small, their beaks are longer and slimmer than most other Tits, and they can reach inside cones to pull out the seed.
Nest and Eggs
The Coal Tit builds its nest out of moss, lichen, grass and hair or wool. It is build in a hole, low down in a wall or tree stump. Sometimes, the nest is built in a hole in the ground.
Six or more white, red spotted eggs are laid in April or May. Two lots of eggs are usually produced each year.
Where and When?
Coal Tits can be found all over Britain throughout the year. Some of them leave for warmer climes in September and October.
Call/Song
Their calls vary, and are often thin and squeaky, and their song is a repeated "see-too".
Length
11 cm.
Fun Fact
The Coal Tit often stores food away for future meals. They have been seen storing aphids, pine seeds and even small black slugs into flower beds and clumps of moss.