A familiar face. Great tits are among our most common birds, bringing a dash of green and yellow to woodland and gardens across the country.
Common name: great tit
Scientific name: Parus major
Family: Paridae (tits)
Habitat: woodland, farmland, parks and gardens
Diet: invertebrates, berries and seeds
Predators: sparrowhawks and cats take adults; chicks and eggs vulnerable to a wide range of predators
Origin: Native
The great tit is a colourful bird with greenish-yellow plumage. It has a black head with striking white cheeks and is roughly the same size as a robin.
Not to be confused with: the blue tit, which is noticeably smaller and lacks a black head. Coal, marsh and willow tits are all smaller than great tits and have duller, less colourful plumage.
Credit: John Bridges / WTML
Insects and invertebrates account for much of the diet in summer. A range of prey is taken, including caterpillars, spiders, grasshoppers and flies. Berries and seeds become important food sources in winter when invertebrates are hard to find.
In Eastern Europe, great tits have been recorded attacking and eating hibernating bats.
Great tits typically lay seven to nine eggs in April or May. These birds are cavity nesters, meaning they build their nests in holes within trees or other surfaces. They will readily use nest boxes. Chicks hatch after around two weeks and fledge up to three weeks later.
Credit: Frank Hecker / Alamy Stock Photo
Great tits are found across the UK, in woodland, farmland and parks and gardens. The national population is estimated at more than two million birds.
Credit: Vasiliy Vishnevskiy / Alamy Stock Photo
Great tits are common birds and you stand a good chance of seeing them on any woodland walk. Listen out for their distinctive ‘teacher-teacher’ call.
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Record the comings and goings of key feathered friends and help scientists track the effects of climate change on wildlife.
The great tit is not of conservation concern and numbers have grown significantly since the 1970s. However, the species can suffer from habitat loss when trees and vegetation are destroyed.
Research has suggested that UK great tits may have evolved longer beaks than those on mainland Europe. This change has only occurred since the 1970s and may be due to a longer beak helping the birds access food in bird feeders.
