Granddad’s Camera
Great tit, as it appears in the game

No.201 · Birds · Common

Great tit

Parus major

Britain's biggest tit: glossy black head, white cheeks and a yellow breast split by a black stripe, broader in the male. Bold at feeders, and a noisy 'teacher-teacher' singer from January.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn and day.

Time of day

Best time
Dawn to mid-morning all year; busiest at feeders Nov–Mar. Nests April–June in boxes.
Where in the game
Millbrook (garden, park and churchyard)
Size
Length about 14 cm
Weight
About 18.6 g (BTO adult average)
Lifespan
Typically about 3 years once breeding; oldest ringed bird 10 years 5 months (BTO)
Population
About 2.4 million territories in the UK, up 67% since 1967 (BTO)
Status
Green (Birds of Conservation Concern, as listed by BTO)

Diet

Mostly insects and caterpillars in summer; seeds, peanuts and suet at feeders in winter.

Habitat

Deciduous woodland, parks, hedges and gardens; found in about 90% of British and Irish 10-km squares.

Breeding

Usually one clutch a year, sometimes two, of 7–9 eggs. Incubation 13–14 days; chicks fledge at 18–21 days. Average first egg date 26 April (BTO).

Field signs

  • Black head with big white cheek patch and a black stripe down a yellow belly
  • Loud, two-note 'teacher-teacher' song, and a wide vocabulary of other calls
  • Hangs on peanut feeders and holds a seed in its feet to hammer it open

Did you know?

  • Great tits have increased by 67% in the UK since 1967, helped by garden feeding and nest boxes (BTO).
  • They readily use nest boxes, which makes them one of the most studied wild birds in Britain.
  • The oldest ringed great tit reached 10 years 5 months, far beyond the 3-year typical life.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Feeding the brood May to June, dawn and day
    A great tit shoots into the nest box with a green caterpillar, and leaves with a white faecal sac.

Photo tip

Set up a perch a metre from a feeder and shoot from a window or a small hide. Focus on the eye; the black-and-yellow pattern needs good light to avoid blown highlights.

Be a good naturalist

Keep feeders clean (weekly) to stop disease. Do not open or inspect nest boxes in the breeding season, and never move an active nest.

The law

All wild birds, their nests and eggs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; it is an offence to damage an active nest.

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