Great Tit
Highgate Common Staffordshire
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The Great Tit (Parus major) is a widespread and familiar songbird across Europe and parts of Asia, known for its bright plumage, adaptability, and frequent visits to garden feeders.
Appearance: The Great Tit is the largest of the tits found in the UK, measuring around 14 cm in length. It has a striking, glossy black head with large white cheek patches. The back is an olive-green, wings are bluish-grey with a white bar, and the underparts are bright yellow with a distinctive broad black stripe running down the centre of the breast and belly. Males have a wider, more prominent black stripe than females.
Voice: They have a loud and varied repertoire of calls. Their most recognizable song is a repetitive, high-pitched two-syllable call, often described as sounding like a squeaky bicycle pump or the words "teacher-teacher".
Intelligence: Great Tits are considered highly intelligent and resourceful. They can solve problems, have been observed using conifer needles as tools to extract insect larvae, and famously learned to break the foil caps of doorstep milk bottles to get the cream in 20th-century Britain.
Habitat and Diet: Great Tits are highly adaptable and can be found in a variety of habitats, including woodlands, parks, gardens, orchards, and farmlands, as long as there are trees or shrubs available. They are common garden visitors and readily use human-provided food sources.
Their diet varies by season:
Breeding Season: They primarily feed on protein-rich insects and other invertebrates, such as caterpillars, spiders, and beetles, which are essential for feeding their chicks.
Winter: When insects are scarce, their diet shifts to seeds (especially from beech and hazel trees), nuts, and berries. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders, where they enjoy sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet.
Great Tit
Highgate Common Staffordshire
What3Words
///vertical.ballots.renewals
The Great Tit (Parus major) is a widespread and familiar songbird across Europe and parts of Asia, known for its bright plumage, adaptability, and frequent visits to garden feeders.
Appearance: The Great Tit is the largest of the tits found in the UK, measuring around 14 cm in length. It has a striking, glossy black head with large white cheek patches. The back is an olive-green, wings are bluish-grey with a white bar, and the underparts are bright yellow with a distinctive broad black stripe running down the centre of the breast and belly. Males have a wider, more prominent black stripe than females.
Voice: They have a loud and varied repertoire of calls. Their most recognizable song is a repetitive, high-pitched two-syllable call, often described as sounding like a squeaky bicycle pump or the words "teacher-teacher".
Intelligence: Great Tits are considered highly intelligent and resourceful. They can solve problems, have been observed using conifer needles as tools to extract insect larvae, and famously learned to break the foil caps of doorstep milk bottles to get the cream in 20th-century Britain.
Habitat and Diet: Great Tits are highly adaptable and can be found in a variety of habitats, including woodlands, parks, gardens, orchards, and farmlands, as long as there are trees or shrubs available. They are common garden visitors and readily use human-provided food sources.
Their diet varies by season:
Breeding Season: They primarily feed on protein-rich insects and other invertebrates, such as caterpillars, spiders, and beetles, which are essential for feeding their chicks.
Winter: When insects are scarce, their diet shifts to seeds (especially from beech and hazel trees), nuts, and berries. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders, where they enjoy sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet.