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Great Tit (Parus major) — photo 1 of 4
© Frank Vassen from Brussels, Belgium CC BY 2.0

Tits · Perching birds

Great Tit

Parus major

Year-round

Voice

Call

Noé Ferrari

0:55

Call

Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart

0:23

Song

Antti Leukkunen

0:08

How to recognize it

  • 13–17 cm, sparrow-sized

  • Black head and neck, white cheeks

  • Yellow underparts with a broad black central stripe

  • Bluish-grey wings, thin white wing bar

About the species

The Great Tit is often one of the first garden visitors to notice because it moves quickly through branches, fences, and feeders. Its call carries far: a clear, ringing sequence that can sound like “teacher, teacher” or a sharp “tink” when alarmed.

It stays active much of the year, and males sing for long stretches outside late autumn and early winter. Pairs defend their own area, and when the nest is disturbed the sitting female hisses and the adults circle nearby. It uses tree holes, nest boxes, and other sheltered cavities, with the female building the nest and both parents feeding the young.

In warmer months it takes insects and spiders, especially caterpillars, from leaves and branches. In autumn and winter it turns to seeds, berries, and other available food, and it will readily use feeders, table scraps, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. It lives in woods, older parks, gardens, and other places with trees, and most populations stay put through the year unless winters turn severe.

Did you know?

  • Black stripe advertises strength

    The width of a male Great Tit's black breast stripe tracks how well-fed he is, advertising his strength so weaker rivals concede contests without fighting.

  • Nest-stealing tits

    If a great tit fancies an occupied nest box, it simply evicts the uninvited tenant, throws out its nest, and builds its own out of moss in the freed-up spot.

  • Mobbing owls with allies

    When a foraging Great Tit spots a tawny or long-eared owl, it broadcasts a sharp alarm call that draws in other small birds, and together they mob the predator from a safe distance.

Where to find

  • In mature parks with old deciduous trees, listen for the Great Tit’s sharp “teacher, teacher” call as it hops along lower branches and trunks hunting insects.

  • Along pond edges, canals, and weedy riverbanks, look in willows and reeds where it picks through leaves and thin twigs.

  • In winter on lawns and beside shrubs, it drops to the ground for fallen seeds and fruit, moving in short hops.

  • Near feeders, if present, watch for quick acrobatics — hanging upside down on sunflower seeds or unsalted fat.

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Sources