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Great Tit (Parus major)

Scientific name: Parus major

Family: Tits and Warblers

Wingspan: 22 - 25cm (9 - 10")

Diet: Mainly seeds, insects and nuts

Feed with: peanuts, black sunflower seeds and mealworms

Habitat: Great Tits are wide spread around the UK and can often be found in parks, woodland and gardens.

Lifespan: 2 Years

Great Tit Characterictics

The great tit is a relatively rotund bird, the largest tit in Europe, and has a characteristic glossy black crown, nape and throat and pure white cheeks. The yellow breast features a dark black central stripe. The beak is short and black.

The major difference between males and females is that males have a slightly broader black stripe on the breast.

Great Tit Feeding

Great tits love to feed on insects, caterpillars and spiders. During the winter months, they are particularly brave and will venture out to hanging feeders and bird tables to feed on nuts and seeds (black sunflower seeds, for instance). They will feed their young dried mealworm.

Great Tit Breeding & Nesting

Great tits nest among the twigs of old nests and use moss, grass and plant down as the primary building materials. You will notice the interior of the cup-shaped nest lined with hair and feathers, as well as plant down. It's possible, and quite common, for great tits to reside within nest boxes.

Great tit eggs are smooth, glossy and speckled with white-purple spots. Breeding typically begins in March; the incubation period lasts between 13 - 13 days, and there's between 16 - 22 fledge days.

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