Great Tits can be seen in woodland, parks and gardens across the UK. Absent only from the northern and western Isles of Scotland.
A trademark two-syllable song, which sounds like they’re shouting out for the ‘teacher’. They have over 40 songs and sounds, all with a metallic, ringing quality. They’re often described as ‘seasawing’ between notes (or sometimes – a little less romantically – they’re compared to a squeaky bike pump!).
They’re vocal all year round, but you’re more likely to hear its most distinctive little ditty in the spring and summer. Great Tits are typically woodland birds, foraging in trees and bushes to find insects, and nesting in holes in trunks. But keep an ear out in your local garden or green space – they have adapted well to living alongside humans, often feasting at feeders.
Great Tits have a wide song vocabulary, from the easily-recognisable ‘tee-cher, tee-cher', to the fiendishly difficult tunes and trills. One common call is a recurring "chink", not to be confused with the "pink pink" Chaffinch call.
Largest member of the tit family with a black cap, collar and throat with a black line that extends down the centre of the belly which is thicker in the males. Their cheeks are white and backs are an olive-green colour whilst their breasts are yellow. They have a white wing bar which you often see in flight.
Blue Tits can often look similar but look out for the belly stripe and less white on the head.
Mainly insects, especially caterpillars during the summer. They will often switch their diet to more seeds, fruits and nuts during autumn and winter.
Within a hole or cavity of a tree 2-4m above ground in broadleaved woodland, parks, farmland and conifer plantations.
April – June and they will often have two broods.
No, they remain here all year round.
On average, three years but the oldest on record was 10.
No, they are widespread in the UK wherever there are suitable trees. They are rare in the Hebrides and absent entirely from the Northern Isles due to the landscape.