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Parus major
One of the UK’s most abundant woodland birds, the Great Tit is a common and colourful visitor to garden bird feeders.
Great Tit
Male left, and female right, Great tits - males have a larger black stripe down the breast
Close up of a Great Tit in flight
Close up of a Great Tit
Length:
12.5cm to 15cm
Wingspan:
24cm
Weight:
12g to 22g
The Great Tit is an attractive songbird, easily identified but occasionally confused with the smaller Blue Tit.
The Great Tit is a small bird with a black head and a prominent white cheek patch. The throat is black, extending as a stripe down towards the legs. Their underparts are yellow, and their back is olive green. Their wings are dark, with a white bar.
Females are less colourful but can be difficult to distinguish from males without a clear view of their breast and belly. The dark vertical stripe is narrower on females and often does not extend as far down toward the legs.
Juveniles resemble adult females but have duller plumage and paler brownish crowns. The gape of the bill is yellow in younger birds.
The Great Tit is most easily confused with the Blue Tit, although that species has a blue crown, wings and tail, and a black stripe through each eye. Read this in-depth guide for more helpful tips on distinguishing between Great tits and Blue tits, these two common garden birds.
Male Great Tit - much thicker black line down the chest, which extends all the way
Female Great Tit bird - note the narrow black line down the chest is much thinner
The Great Tit is the largest tit species in the United Kingdom. They have similar dimensions to the House Sparrow but a much lighter build.
Great Tits have a body length of about 15 centimetres.
These small birds weigh just 12 to 22 grams, about half the weight of a House Sparrow.
Great Tits have a wingspan of about 24 centimetres.
Great Tits are a similar size to House sparrows, and larger than a Blue tit
The Great Tit’s call is a familiar sound across the UK, although the sheer variety of their vocalisations can make identification tricky.
Males are highly vocal and produce a wide variety of calls. These birds can be heard throughout the year, and their most familiar call is a repetitive ‘teacher’ - ‘teacher’ territorial call.
Stuart Fisher, XC29756. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/29756.
The Great Tit has a varied diet that changes with the seasons.
Great Tits prefer insects and other small invertebrates in the summer but will eat seeds, berries and fruit in the colder months when live prey is scarce. These birds readily eat scraps and bird food at bird tables, which form an essential part of their diet in suburban areas.
For more information, check out our comprehensive guide on what Great Tits eat.
Great Tit chicks are fed by both parents. Moth and butterfly larvae are their most important food source, but beetles, spiders, and other invertebrates are also provided.
Close up of a Great Tit pulling a worm out of the woodwork
Great Tits are widespread in a variety of habitats. Read this section to learn more about where they live.
Great Tits are woodland birds that have adapted to many human-altered environments. They are most common in the following habitats:
Great Tits occur virtually throughout the UK. They are scarce or absent from some high-lying parts of Scotland and absent from the islands of the north and west coasts. Elsewhere, the species occurs throughout Europe, Central Asia, and the northwest of Africa.
Great Tits spend most of their time in trees and other tall vegetation. These active birds forage at all levels but prefer the lower branches. They also descend to the ground to feed, particularly in the non-breeding season.
Close up of a perched Great Tit in its natural habitat
Great Tits are abundant birds in the UK. They have increased in the last 50 years and have an estimated population of over two million pairs.
Look for Great Tits in gardens, parks, and woodlands throughout the United Kingdom.
Great tits are easily identified by their yellow underparts and narrow white wing bar. Wings and tail can be held fanned out when in a threat posture. Great tits can be quite bold and at times even audacious and have been known to take food from the hand.
Great Tits are quite bold around bird feeders, and won't be scared off by birds larger than them
Great tits are highly intelligent birds and have been witnessed using pine needles as tools to extract larvae from holes in trees.
Great Tits are vulnerable to many predators and are generally short-lived. However, high breeding success and an adaptable nature have made them one of the UK’s most successful bird species.
Great Tits have an average life expectancy of about three years. However, one banded bird lived for 13 years and 11 months, so they are clearly capable of relatively long lives in some cases.
Great Tits are preyed upon by many small predators, including Sparrowhawks and domestic cats. Their eggs and young are particularly vulnerable to Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Magpies.
Great Tits are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981.
Great Tits are not endangered. Their population in the UK is healthy, and they are globally assessed as a ‘Least Concern’ species.
Great Tit in flight with wings spread wide
Great Tits are prolific breeders, producing one, two, or even three large broods each year. Continue reading to learn more fascinating facts about Great Tit nesting in the UK.
Great Tits use natural and artificial cavities like tree holes, rock crevices, and buildings to shelter their eggs and young. They readily use nest boxes and often prefer these over natural sites. The female builds the nest from various materials, such as grass, hair, and feathers.
Check out our full guide on everything Great tit nesting.
Great Tits lay five to twelve white eggs per clutch, each marked with purplish spots and speckles. Their eggs measure approximately 18 millimetres long and 14 millimetres wide.
Great Tits are monogamous in the breeding season but do not necessarily mate with the same partner in successive years. They are short-lived birds, so long-lasting partnerships are unlikely.
The nest of a Great Tit with eggs inside
Young Great Tit chick, recently after fledgling the nest
Great Tits are rather aggressive towards smaller species at bird feeders. They are also highly aggressive towards other Great Tits in late winter and spring when preparing to nest.
Great Tits sleep in cavities, nest boxes, and other sheltered places.
Great tit in flight
Great Tits do not migrate in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere in their range, they are known to undertake short migrations between high and low-altitude areas.
Great Tits are a native species in the United Kingdom.
Great Tits at a bird feeder
Great Tits are one of the UK’s most abundant garden birds and are easily attracted to food, shelter, and water. These birds frequent bird feeders, where they enjoy suet, sunflower seeds, and peanuts. They will happily feed from hanging feeders, bird tables, or even from the ground.
Installing a nest box in your garden is a fantastic way to attract these birds, and they may even use it for roosting in the non-breeding season. A nest box with a 28-millimetre entrance hole placed one to five meters above the ground is ideal for these lovely birds.
They also enjoy visiting water sources where they can drink and bathe. The ideal birdbath for Great Tits is an inch or so deep, but a sloping design that reaches four inches (10 cm) will attract many other bird species.
Remember to clean your birdbaths and feeders regularly to maintain hygienic conditions for our feathered friends.
There are no specific collective nouns for a group of Great Tits, but you can use Tit specific ones such as:
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