The tit family And Your Wildlife Garden

How many types of tit are there?

he word ‘tit’ is derived from the Old English word ‘tite’, meaning very small, minute or smallest. In terms of body size– forgetting tail feathers – the long-tailed tit is one of the world’s smallest birds. The tit family comprises around a dozen species, four of which are common in British gardens. Tits tend to go around in ‘gangs’, and are incredibly agile, perching effortlessly on tree branches and hanging feeders.

Aegithalos caudatusLong-tailed Tit

Size – 13–15 cm (5–6 in) long.
Appearance – Has a black head with a white crown, and pinky-buff
underparts. The tail feathers make up over half the total length, so the body
length may be only 6 cm (2½ in).
Habitat – Woodland, farmland, hedges and gardens; particularly likes untidy, overgrown gardens and thick undergrowth.
Food – Insects, buds and seeds.
Nesting – Builds an enclosed, oval-shaped, bag-like nest using scraps and wisps of moss, hair, feathers and cobwebs, sited anywhere from a sheltered spot low down beside a tree trunk to a fork in a scrubby bush.
Comments – Nest-building is a joint effort with the males doing all the fetching and carrying of materials, and the females doing the more intricate construction.

Parus caeruleusBlue Tit

Size – 10–13 cm (4–5 in) long.
Appearance – Has blue-green upper parts, yellow underparts, a blue crown and a white face.
Habitat – Woodland and wooded gardens.
Food – Insects, grubs and larvae; also likes supplementary food such as seeds, nuts, fruit and kitchen scraps.
Nesting – Nests in holes in trees and in nesting boxes.
Comments – Distinctive little bird that is a welcome addition to any garden.

Parus aterCoal Tit

Size – 10–13 cm (4–5 in) long.
Appearance – Has a black head with white on the neck and blue-uff underparts. While the young birds are generally duller than the adults, they do have small white/yellow-tinged patches on the nape of the neck and the cheeks.
Habitat – Woodland and overgrown wooded gardens, but prefers conifer woods.
Food – Insects found under the bark of trees; will also eat supplementary food such as fruit and nuts.
Nesting – Nests in holes in trees, nesting boxes, mouseholes, between the roots of trees – almost anywhere that is at about 1 m (3½ ft) or so from the ground.

Comments – Small, hardy bird that does well, even in harsh winters, by feeding on insects found in the crevices beneath tree bark, by searching around under leafmould, and by generally scratching around. It will feed at treetop level, on the ground, and all places in between. If you want to attract coal tits, build log piles in various corners of the garden. 

Parus major Great Tit (UK)Chickadee, Titmouse (USA)

Size – 13–15 cm (5–6 in) long.
Appearance – Has bluish green plumage with patches of green on the upper parts, a yellow belly, and white outer tail feathers.
Habitat – Woodland and wooded gardens.
Food – Insects, caterpillars and larvae; will also eat supplementary food such as nuts, seeds and kitchen scraps.
Nesting – Nests in holes in trees, cracks and crannies in old buildings, and in boxes (with holes about 6 mm/1¼ in across).
Comments – The biggest and noisiest member of the tit family.

OTHER TITS
• Parus cristatus (Crested Tit) – Has a pointed, black and white crest and favours pine forests.
• Parus montanus (Willow Tit) – Has a matt-black crown and favours wooded margins and hedges.
• Parus palustris (Marsh Tit) – Has a glossy black crown and pale white-grey wing patches, and prefers hedges, woodland and scrubby wasteland.