Tits · Perching birds
Crested Tit
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Lophophanes cristatus
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Voice
Song
Song
Song
How to recognize it
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Small, blue tit-sized; very active
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Erectile black-and-white crest, often raised
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Pale cheeks; large black throat patch with a narrow collar
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Fast, undulating flight; call a thin repeated “zee, zee, zee”
About the species
The Crested Tit is easy to remember for its upright crest and lively, restless movements. It looks compact and alert, and it rarely sits still for long.
Its voice is slight rather than loud, with short calls and a fine, twittering song. It often feeds low in trees, working along twigs, bark, and needles, and in winter may join mixed flocks.
It belongs to older conifer woods, and in some areas also to light broadleaf woodland with large trees and dead wood. It eats insects, larvae, and spiders, then switches to seeds and berries in autumn and winter, and in many places stays all year.
Where to find
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In mature conifer parks with old pines and spruces, look low in the branches where Crested Tit works along bark cracks and needle clusters.
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At the quiet edge of a park or in courtyards with planted conifers — a thin "zee, zee, zee" carries from the lower canopy while a pair feeds.
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In winter at feeders by spruces and in mixed squares with conifers — watch for it hanging upside down to pry seeds from cones.
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Around old stumps and rotten trunks in planted green spaces — it stays near the ground, probing holes and bark crevices.
