Blue Tits and Great Tits - two of our most brightly coloured birds!

All images taken with my Nikon D500 body and Nikon 200-500 f5.6 lens.


The Blue Tit (Cyanistes Caeruleus)
  

Like most other members of the tit family, Blue Tits are small birds, with strong bills and a rather plump but lively appearance. One of the most noticeable features is the strong head pattern; the dark blue-black eyestripe and the brighter blue ‘skull cap’ are set against the white cheeks and forehead.

The blue-green back becomes a brighter blue on the wings, while the underside is a bright lemon yellow. Although male Blue Tits are usually brighter in colour than the females, this difference is not normally apparent in the field. Young Blue Tits are duller in appearance than the adults and have pale yellow rather than white cheeks.

a group of Blue Tits, share a feeder with a Great Tit, on a snowy winters day.

Although Blue Tits are really birds of deciduous woodland, This delightful and entertaining small bird is a frequent visitor to garden bird feeders and tables, performing skilful acrobatics to obtain a meal of peanuts or suet.

They are easily recognised by their blue cap and wings, white cheeks and yellow body. Blue Tits are by far the most common species of tit in Europe and the UK, and will readily breed in nest boxes put up in gardens.  Gardens, generally provide very little invertebrate food compared with that available in woodland.

However, the food that we provide at our feeding stations can be important for Blue Tits, particularly during the winter and early spring, and there is mounting evidence that garden Blue Tits survive better than their country cousins.

Mainly, they nest in tree holes and nest boxes from March to June, laying 5-12 red flecked white eggs which hatch after 14 days incubation by the female. The young fledge at 18 days old and are fully independent after 4 weeks. They have one or two broods per year depending on the availability of food.  Their average lifespan is 3 to 4 years.

During summer, their diet comprises mainly of small insects, caterpillars, spiders and invertebrates such as millipedes. In urban and rural areas, they will continue to feed in gardens where food is provided. In the spring they will also feed on tree buds, often causing damage to fruit trees. In the winter months they will seek out insects and other invertebrates from crevices in trees and buildings, but a key source of food is that put out in gardens. Here they will eat black sunflower seeds which they hold in their feet and chisel off the husk with their bill to get at the heart. They also feed on peanuts in mesh feeders and any suet products. They will also like mixes such as High Energy Mix, which they’ll take from a hanging feeder or table.

Although Blue Tit numbers have increased over the last 40 years, the number seen in individual gardens has declined a little since the 1970s. However, this could simply be because the population is being spread over more gardens as the popularity of feeding garden birds has grown in recent decades.

Outside of the breeding season, Blue Tits can be quite gregarious and will feed in small groups which often include other species of tit. Nearly always active and highly dexterous, they are able to cling onto walls, fences and other structures in the garden to find hiding insects and other invertebrates.

The Great Tit (Parus Major)

Larger than the Blue Tit, the Great Tit it is easily recognised by its black head and black breast stripe, bright yellow belly and olive green back.  It is a common bird, and has adapted well from its natural woodland habitat to breed in gardens, parks and suburban areas generally.  Part of this success is down to its willingness to breed in nest boxes put up in gardens, plus is adaptability to eat different foods.

In its ideal habitat of mature woodland the Great Tit would build its nest in a hole in a tree, but in other areas will also use a hole in a wall, a gap in rocks, or sometimes the old nests of larger birds and squirrel drays.  In gardens it readily takes to nest boxes, which ideally will have a 28mm hole and be out of prolonged direct sunlight (east facing is ideal). 

The nest consists of thin twigs and/or roots, plus moss, grasses and lichen, then lined with soft materials such as hair and plant down. The nest building and incubation is carried out by the female alone, though the male will feed her whilst she’s on the eggs and then both parents tend the young. There are approximately eight eggs in the clutch and normally just one brood, though sometimes there is a second if conditions are right and there is sufficient food available.

Like other species of tit, the Great Tit eats a wide variety of foods and changes are often driven by season and the habitat it lives in.  However, its main preference is for insects, and when feeding young, caterpillars are a key food. It will also eat spiders and small earthworms, then will switch to seeds, nuts, berries and buds as and when needed, and available. 

In gardens, they especially like black sunflower seeds and sunflower hearts, peanuts in a hanging mesh feeder, plus suet blocks and suet balls.

In the UK, Great Tit numbers have increased steadily since the 1960s. There is limited evidence that this may be due to the increased availability of food in gardens in the winter months, plus a trend for milder winters.

The Great Tit is bold in its behaviour and is also often aggressive at nesting sites, including evicting smaller species of tit.  It is also renowned for being a relatively intelligent bird, with the ability to quickly adapt and learn new tasks in order to obtain food. 

A characteristic behaviour which can easily be observed in gardens where food is provided, is when the bird takes a black sunflower seed from a feeder or table and then flies to a suitable perch, holds the seed in one or both feet, then chisels away at the husk to get at the kernel inside. This behaviour also takes place in its natural woodland habitat with seeds including hazel, though the tough shell will take the bird around 20 minutes to penetrate.

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