Who is such a big tit bird and how does it look

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Tits - this is a genus of birds belonging to the order of passer-shaped and to the family of tits. Their most famous species is the great tit that lives throughout Europe, in the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, as well as in some areas of North Africa. In the wild nature, tits can be found in deciduous and mixed forests, in meadows, on forest edges, off the coast of water bodies.

As a rule, tits are non-migratory birds. Therefore, most of them do not migrate anywhere from cold regions, hibernating side by side with a person. If we talk about the zoological classification of these birds, then until 2005, the species of tits consisted in its structure of many different subspecies. However, DNA studies have shown that some of these subspecies are markedly different from big tits. That is why they were isolated in separate species. As for the big tit, this species of birds remains the largest and most numerous in the whole world, particularly in the territory of Russia.

What does a tit look like?

Since the great tit is the most common representative of this genus of birds, further acquaintance with these birds should be continued precisely by its example. The great tit stands out with its black head and neck, white cheeks, striking the eye. The top of these birds has an olive tint, and the bottom is yellow. In principle, the coloring of the plumage of these creatures varies somewhat depending on their numerous subspecies.

What eats tit?

In summer, these birds feed on insects. In the winter, their menu has a wider range: for example, the great tit eats with pleasure the bat hibernating bats, gradually pecking at them. In addition, in the winter, tits switch to plant food, eating rowan and other berries, as well as enjoying seeds from the feeders.

Tits lifestyle

When spring claims its rights, in the woods, parks, gardens and kitchen gardens tits chirping is heard. These sounds are made by males. The fact is that spring is the time for dating and arranging your homes. Nest building is done only by females. It is curious that big tits do not bother themselves with a long choice of nesting sites. Like starlings, these birds can build their homes in iron pipes, in rock crevices, and in walls of abandoned houses. Tits love to occupy abandoned birdhouses.

They line their nests with layers of moss and wool. After some time, up to 10 chicks are born. Young tits leave their parental home 20 days after their birth. For some time, their parents take care of them, and then send them on their own. As mentioned above, the absolute majority of tits are non-migratory birds. However, in search of food in the winter, they gather in flocks and fly from place to place. Big tits stay where there is most food.

Tit - a useful bird!

These feathered creatures provide an indispensable favor to parks, forests and gardens. During the day, they eat a number of insects equal to their own weight. That is why people need to feed these birds in winter. Tits - friendly birds, they willingly visit the feeders, feeding on sunflower seeds, unsalted lard, milk cream.

What a great tit looks like.

Black head and neck, cheeks white, olive top and yellow bottom - the standard description of tits. Some members of this family have a brighter color, others - more pale. The bright yellow belly and bluish tint of the wings and tail make the bird quite noticeable.
The titmouse feeds on small-sized invertebrates (beetles, spiders, flies, mosquitoes, midges, butterflies, bees, cockroaches, dragonflies, and crickets) and is a kind of forest nurse, destroying various pests. Also eats seeds and fruits of plants, especially in winter. The tit does not make stocks for the winter, so in winter it doesn’t go through the feed and there is even carrion and almost any food from the feeders. At the same time, tits gather in small groups, roaming and searching for food.

A tit can make about forty variations of sounds and alternate different in rhythm and timbre, height and number of syllables and sounds of song variants. Males sing more and more females. It is interesting to watch the song communication of a pair of tits.

Where the great tit lives and winters.

The bird can be found practically in any place of our planet. She lives in Europe everywhere, except Iceland, and in the East and in Asia and in the countries of Africa and in the territory of Russia, excluding the Kola Peninsula. The tit is a sedentary bird and rarely roams. Chooses a place to live in a wooded area near water. The titmouse can live in any climatic conditions and practically never migrates, remaining to spend the winter in a settled place. It can be found in large cities in city squares, gardens and parks, on the outskirts of fields, near plantations and olive groves.

Recently, two completely different subspecies of the great tit were identified: the gray tit that lives in South Asia and the eastern tit from the eastern part of Asia.

Photos of big tits in the wild:

A photo. Great tit bathes.

A photo. Great tit on laying eggs.

A photo. Tit and her offspring. Chicks titmouse.

Video film like a tit in a hurry to build a nest

Video: "Tit - a big fight"

Another video about titmouse - a fight near the winter trough outside the window

And one more video from the life of a tit tit: “Tit is resting”

Tits description

The word "tit" was formed from the name "blue color", therefore it is directly related to the color of the bird azure tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), which previously belonged to the genus of tits. Many species that previously belonged to real tits have now been moved to the category of other genera: Sittiparus, Machlolophus, Periarus, Melaniparus, Pseudopodoces, Gaiček (Roecil) and azure whales (Syanestes).

Appearance

The subspecies of the Sinitsiy family are: long-tailed and billed tits. In the world today, there are more than a hundred known and fairly well studied bird species belonging to this genus, but now only those birds that are included in the tit family are considered to be real tits. Representatives of the Gray-tit species are characterized by a wide black stripe along the abdomen, as well as the absence of a tuft. The main species difference is the gray color of the back, black cap, white spots on the cheeks and light chest. The belly is white, with the presence of a central black band.

It is interesting! The tail is ashen and the tail feathers on the tail are blackish. Undertail is also black in the central part and has a characteristic white color on the sides.

The great tit is a mobile, rather fidgety bird, with a body of 13-17 cm long, with an average weight of 14-21 g and a wingspan of not more than 22-26 cm. The view is distinguished by a black neck and head, and also has eyes are white cheeks, olive green upper and yellowish lower part. Numerous subspecies of this species differ in some very noticeable variations in the color of the plumage.

Character and way of life

Mischievous titmouse is incredibly difficult to hide or be in the same place for a long time. Such a bird is accustomed to constant movement, but is completely undemanding in terms of habitat feathered creature. Among other things, tits do not have rivals in dexterity, mobility and curiosity, and thanks to tenacious and very strong legs such a small bird is able to perform many tricks, including all sorts of tumbling.

Thanks to well-developed paws, titmouses survive even in adverse conditions, being at a great distance from their nest. Attaching claws to the surface of the branch, the bird quickly falls asleep, becoming similar in appearance to a small and very fluffy lump. It is this feature that saves her during too much winter cold. Lifestyles of all blue-tits, mostly sedentary, but according to specialists, some species tend to wander from time to time.

Nevertheless, each type of tits possesses only its own inherent, most characteristic features, and the qualities that unite all the representatives of the genus are beautiful and memorable plumage, incredibly mischievous behavior and simply exciting with its slenderness, loud singing.

The process of molting in birds of this species in natural conditions occurs only once every twelve months.

It is interesting! Gray tit is usually observed in pairs, but sometimes these birds are combined in small intraspecific groups or with other species of birds. The so-called mixed flocks are more productive in the search for food in the hungry season.

By their nature, absolutely all kinds of tits belong to the category of the most real techs of nature. Adult individuals actively destroy a huge number of many harmful insects, thus saving the green plantings from death. For example, one family of tits to feed its own, born to the offspring, is required to clear more than four dozen trees from pests. To communicate among themselves bird tits, a special “squeaky” tweet is used, remotely resembling the loud and melodious sounds of “blue-blue-blue.”

How many tits live

Life titmouse in natural conditions is very short and, as a rule, is only three years. When kept in captivity, the Great Tit is able to live even up to fifteen years. However, the overall life expectancy of such an unusual feathered pet directly depends on many factors, including adherence to the regime of maintenance and feeding rules.

Sexual dimorphism

Females of gray tit have narrower and dim strip on abdomen.. The females of the great tit are very similar in appearance to the males, but in general, they have a slightly dim coloring of plumage, so the black tones in the head and chest are dark-gray, and the collar and black strip on the belly are somewhat thinner and can be interrupted .

Types of tits

According to the data provided by the base of the International Union of Ornithologists, the genus Parus includes four types:

Gray tit (Parus cinereus) - view, including several subspecies, which some time ago belonged to the species Great Tit (Рar major),
Bolshak, or Big tit (Parus major) - the largest and most numerous species,
East, or Japanese tit (Parus minor) - view represented by several subspecies that are not distinguished by mixing or frequent hybridization,
Green-backed tit (Parus monticolus).

Until recently, the Oriental or Japanese Tit species was classified as a subspecies of the Great Tit, but thanks to the efforts of Russian researchers it was possible to establish that these two species simply coexist quite successfully.

Habitat

Gray tit is represented by thirteen subspecies:

R.c. ambiguus - the inhabitant of the Malacca peninsula and the island of Sumatra,
P.c. Сaschmirensis with a gray spot on the back of its head - an inhabitant of northeastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and northwestern India,
P.c. сinereus Vieillot is a nominative subspecies that lives on the territory of the island of Java and on the Sunda Small Islands,
P.c. desolorans Koelz - the inhabitant of the north-east of Afghanistan and the north-west of Pakistan,
P.c. hainanus E.J.O. Nartert is an inhabitant of Hainan Island,
P.c. Intermedia Zarudny - the inhabitant of the north-east of Iran and north-west of Turkmenistan,
P.c. mahrmattt E.J.O. Nartert is a denizen of northwestern India and the island of Sri Lanka,
P.c. planorum E.J.O. Nartert is a inhabitant of northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the central part and west of Myanmar,
P.c. sarawacensis Slater - inhabitant of the island of Kalimantan,
P.c. sturaye Koelz - the inhabitant of the west, central part and northeast of India,
P.c. temрlum Meyer de Sсhauens more - the inhabitant of the central part and the west of Thailand, the south of Indochina,
P.c. vauriei Riplay is a resident of northeastern India,
P.c. Ziarats Wh Whistler is an inhabitant of central and southern Afghanistan, western Pakistan.

The Great Tit is inhabitant of the entire territory of the Middle East and Europe, is found in North and Central Asia, inhabits some areas of North Africa. Fifteen subspecies of the great tit have a somewhat different habitat:

P.m. harhródite is a resident of the south of Italy, the south of Greece, the islands of the Aegean Sea and Cyprus,
P.m. blanfordi - the inhabitant of the north of Iraq, the north, the north of the central part and the southwestern part of Iran,
P.m. bokharasis - the inhabitant of the territory of Turkmenistan, the north of Afghanistan, the south of the central part in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,
P.m. соrsus - inhabitant of the territory of Portugal, southern Spain and Corsica,
P.m. Eski is a resident of the territories of Sardinia,
P.m. exsus - inhabitant of northwestern Africa, from the territory of the western part of Morocco to the northwestern part of Tunisia,
P.m. ferghansis - inhabitant of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and western China,
P.m. karustini - inhabitant of southeastern Kazakhstan or the Dzungarian Alatau, the extreme northwestern part of China and Mongolia, Transbaikalia, the upper reaches of the Amur and Primorye, the northern part to the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk,
P.m. karelini - the inhabitant of the south-east of Azerbaijan and north-west of Iran,
P.m. majór - a typical inhabitant of continental Europe, north and east from the central part, and the northern part of Spain, the Balkans and northern Italy, Siberia, east to Baikal, and south to the Altai Mountains, eastern and northern Kazakhstan, is found in Asia Minor, ha The Caucasus and Azerbaijan, with the exception of the south-eastern part,
P.m. mallorsae - inhabitant of the Balearic Islands,
P.m. newtoni - the inhabitant of the territory of the British Isles, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the northwestern part of France,
P.m. niethammeri - the inhabitant of the territories of Crete,
P.m. terraesanctae - inhabitant of Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan and northeastern Egypt,
P.m. Turkey - the inhabitant of the south-eastern part of Kazakhstan and the south-western territories of Mongolia.

In the wild, representatives of the species are found in a variety of forest zones, most often in the most open areas and on the edges, settles also along the banks of natural reservoirs.

Oriental or Japanese tit is represented by nine subspecies:

P.m. amaminiensis - the inhabitant of the northern of the Ryukyu Islands,
P.m. mmmmtus - the inhabitant of the south of China and the north of Vietnam,
P.m. dagletensis - a resident of Ullyndo Island near Korea,
P.m. kagoshimae - inhabitant of the south of Kyushu and Goto islands,
P.m. minór - inhabitant of eastern Siberia, southern Sakhalin, eastern central and northeastern China, Korea and Japan,
P.m. nigrilrisis - inhabitant of the south of the Ryukyu Islands,
P.m. nubiсlus - the inhabitant of the east of Myanmar, the north of Thailand and northwest of Indochina,
P.m. Okinawae - inhabitant of the center of the Ryukyu Islands,
P.m. tibetanus - the inhabitant of the south-east of Tibet, the south-west and south of the central part of China, the north of Myanmar.

Green-backed tit has spread in Bangladesh and Bhutan, in China and India, and also inhabits Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam. The natural habitats of this species are boreal forests and forest zones in temperate latitudes, subtropics and tropical lowland rainforests.

Tit diet

In the period of active breeding, tits feed on small invertebrates, as well as their larvae. Feathered orderlies destroy a huge variety of forest pests. However, the basis of the feeding ration of any tit during this period is most often represented:

butterfly tracks,
spiders
weevils and other bugs,
Diptera insects, including flies, mosquitoes and blackflies,
hemiptera living beings, including bedbugs.

Also tits are used in food cockroaches, orthoptera in the form of grasshoppers and crickets, small dragonflies, retinopterans, earwigs, ants, ticks and millipedes. The adult bird is quite capable to eat bees, from which the sting is previously removed.. With the onset of spring, tits can hunt for such prey, as dwarf bats, which, after leaving hibernation, remain still inactive and quite accessible to birds. Nestlings are fed, as a rule, by caterpillars of all kinds of butterflies, whose body length is no more than 10 mm.

In the autumn and in the winter, the role of various vegetable feeds, including hazel seeds and European beech, increases noticeably in the diet of tits. Birds feed in the fields and acreage of barley grain of corn, rye, oats and wheat.

Birds living in the northwestern territory of Russia often feed on the fruits and seeds of some of the most common plants:

ate and pines
Maple and Linden,
lilacs
birch trees
horse sorrel,
Pikulnikov,
burdock
red elderberry
Irgi,
rowan,
blueberries,
hemp and sunflower.

The main difference between big tits and other species of this genus, including the tit, and the tit, is the lack of its own reserves for the winter. Such a clever and very mobile bird is able to very skillfully find food that was collected and hidden in the fall by other birds. According to experts, sometimes representatives of the Great Tit species can eat various carrion.

To feed themselves, tits often visit bird feeders in cities and parks, where they feed on sunflower seeds, food remains and bread crumbs, as well as butter and pieces of unsalted lard. Fodder is also produced in tree crowns, usually on the lower tiers of plants and in the foliage of undergrowth or shrubs.

It is interesting! Именно у большой синицы среди всех воробьиных имеется самый большой список объектов для охоты, а убив чечётку, обыкновенную овсянку, мухоловку-пеструшку, желтоголового королька или летучую мышь, пернатый хищник легко выклёвывает у них мозг.

Плоды, обладающие слишком твёрдой скорлупой, включая орехи, предварительно разбиваются клювом. Большим синицам присуще хищничество. Представители данного вида хорошо известны, как постоянные и типичные падальщики, кормящиеся на тушах разных копытных млекопитающих.

Reproduction and offspring

In our country, Bolshaki, which are monogamous birds and having broken in pairs, are beginning to jointly and actively build a nest together. Nestlings representatives of this species are also raised together. Birds prefer to nest in places with sparse deciduous forest, along river banks, in park areas and in gardens. Coniferous forest zones are not suitable for tit nesting. Nest tits placed in niches in old buildings or in hollows enough old trees. Also, sometimes you can see representatives of the species in old nests, abandoned by former tenants, which are located at a height of from two to six meters. Very willingly, birds of this species settle in convenient nests made by people.

For the construction of the nest, thin blade of grass and twigs are used, as well as small plant roots and even moss. The inner part of the nest is carpeted with wool, cobwebs, cotton wool, down and feathers, in the middle of which a special tray is squeezed, covered with horsehair or wool. The size of the nest of tits can vary depending on the characteristics of the nesting site, but the dimensions of the inner tray are always about the same: at a depth of 40-50 mm, its diameter is 40-60 mm.

One egg-laying consists of a maximum of fifteen white-colored eggs with a slight shine. Relatively numerous specks and reddish-brown dots are scattered across the surface of the eggshell, which form a peculiar corolla on the blunt side of the egg. Great tits lay eggs twice a year. The first egg-laying occurs in the last decade of April or at the very beginning of May, and the second - approximately in the middle of the summer period.

Eggs are hatched by a female for a little less than a couple of weeks. All this time, the male takes care of the female and feeds her. The first couple of days of hatched chicks are covered with grayish down, therefore the female does not leave her nest, but heats the offspring that has appeared to the world with her warmth.

During this period, the male feeds not only the female, but also all his offspring. Only after the body of the chicks is covered with typical feathers, the female and the male together begin to feed their numerous and incredibly voracious offspring.

It is interesting! In the mating season, tits are not funny and restless birds, but very aggressive birds towards any of their fellows.

Approximately seventeen days later the body of the chicks is completely covered with feathers, so they become ready for complete independence, but for another week the young birds prefer to stick directly next to their parents, who periodically try to feed them. Such juvenile tits reaches full sexual maturity only closer to the year.

Natural enemies

Tits - very useful birds, both in the conditions of gardening, and in traditional forestry. One of the natural factors that adversely affect the total number of all types of tits is hunger during the winter frosts. It is from a lack of feed in the winter that a huge number of representatives of the genus die each year. Also in nature, adult martens, weasels, as well as some forest wild cats and domestic felines, rather large owls and other flying predators, actively hunt for all species of titmouses.

Population and species status

To date, many subspecies of tits are quite numerous, therefore, they do not particularly need protective or protective measures. However, there are quite rare and less common species that are currently practically on the verge of extinction.

For example, the Baleenbird (Panurus biarmicus), a rare and little-studied Southern Palearctic bird with a spotted range, is currently not only subject to protection along with other small insectivorous birds, but is also listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Khakassia. Yew or Japanese tit is also included in the Red Book of Russia today, and representatives of this species are sporadically found only on the territory of the Southern Kuriles, therefore the rarity is due to the obvious limitedness of the range.

The etymology of the word, or why the bird was called tit

Once a bird was called "zinitsa" and even "zinziver". The original origin of the name of the bird is attributed to her song - “zin-zin”. Later it changed a bit, the word “tit” began to signify the characteristic, albeit implicit shades of the plumage of the animal. Scientists call such a process a national etymological rapprochement.

The word appeared in the Slavic peoples and in some languages it is pronounced almost the same. In Ukrainian it is blue, in Croatian it is sjenica, in Belarusian it is synica.

Author photo: hedera.baltica, CC BY-SA 2.0

Tit: description and photo. What does a titmouse look like?

The family consists of birds that are similar to each other in both appearance and lifestyle. They are small, with a body length of 10-20 cm, with a wingspan of 16-26 cm. Titmies weigh from 7 to 48 grams.

The smallest member of the family is the fire-headed Remez (lat. Cephalopyrus flammiceps), with a body length of up to 10 cm and a weight of 7 g. The largest in the family is the Tibetan podsnosoyok (lat. Pseudopodoces humilis) with a body size of 19-20 cm and a weight of 45-48 g.

Firehead Remez. Author photo: Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0

The head of a tit is large, with small round eyes. The iris of the pupil is often dark, only in the shoulder of a tit (lat. Melaniparus guineensis) it is whitish, and in some species (for example, dark tit (lat. Melaniparus funereus) and crested tit (lat. Lophophanes cristatus)) - reddish.

Many species have a “cap” in a contrasting color on their heads, and some have a tuft of elongated feathers of the crown.

Great tit Author photo: xulescu_g, CC BY-SA 2.0

Crested tit Author photo: Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 4.0

The beak of birds is often short, straight, tapered, strong, rounded at the top, and oblate from the sides. Sometimes it is very sharp. In Tibetan tits, the beak is long and bent down. Birds can smash the seeds or bark of the tree for them to harvest the larvae and insects.

The rounded nostrils are located at the base of the supraclavicular, they are covered with short bristle-like feathers.

Great tit Author photo: Thorsten Denhard, CC BY-SA 3.0

The wings of the tits are blunt, small - up to 77 mm long, with 10 primary wing feathers. The first ones are the shortest, about twice as short as the second.

The tail of some species is long (up to 64 mm), while others are short, with a small notch at the end or with a smooth edge. Consists of 12 tail feathers.

Great tit Author photo: Salvatore De Castro, CC BY-SA 4.0

The flight of birds is pulsating and uneven. Flying tit looks more like a swimmer moving with a breaststroke. With a quick flap of wings several times, the bird flies by inertia, saving energy, and then a new series of flaps follows.

Flying capabilities of family members are small. But this is not very important for them: the entire route at the blue tit is from tree to tree, from forest to forest, from fence to fence. But in flight the bird manages to catch skilled flyers - insects.

Titmouses perfectly move in the tree crown, both vertically and horizontally, can be suspended from the bottom to the cones and branches. Strong muscles and sharp tenacious claws help to do various acrobatic stunts in search of insects, about which even the proverb is folded: "A little bird, but a claw is sharp."

And indeed, the legs of birds are rather long, strong, with strong fingers and curved sharp claws. The most powerful claw at the rear finger.

Sharp tit. Author photo: Jocelyn Anderson, CC0

Plumage of tits is thick and soft. Sexual difference in color is often weakly expressed. But there are exceptions:

For example, mating outfits of males and females of fire-headed Remez (lat. Cephalopyrus flammiceps) noticeable well, and the rest of the time they differ little.
Male African dark tit (lat. Parus funereus) entirely black, female dark gray.

Young birds differ from old ones only in more pale tones of coloring. All species of the family molt once a year: after the nesting period, they change the plumage completely and not partially. The first years are replaced by a feather in the first autumn of their life.

Yew (Japanese) tit. Author photo: Laitche, CC BY-SA 4.0

Feather tits painted bright and contrast. The difference between the types of tits is expressed in their colors. Usually in the color of their plumage white, black, reddish, gray, bluish tones are combined, due to the presence of the pigment melanin. The lipochromes present in some species of pigments impart a greenish and yellow tone to birds.

As a rule, in birds, there is a “cap”, contrasting with the color of the cheeks, “tie”, throat spots, fields on the feathers of the wings and tail. The sister of the great tit, the blue tit, on the head and wings are seen light blue, azure feathers. Only Himalayan Foam Tit (lat. Sylviparus modestus) is painted not too bright, in greenish-olive tones. Beak and legs of tits most often gray.

Himalayan Foam Tit Author photo: Dibyendu Ash, CC BY-SA 3.0

How does a tit sing?

Tits sing monotonously, but nicely. Their singing depends on the species. Sometimes it's melodic and clean trills, whistles, squeals, chirps. You can hear their voice from the beginning of February to June, as well as at the end of the summer.

There are 2 main types of tit song: demonstrative, with which birds attract partners, and territorial. In addition to the main species, there is also a characteristic ringing call for all tsinitsykh: "qi-qi", "si-si", "zin-zin" or "jo-ji". The big tit sings harder than others, experts mark out 40 variations of the sounds it makes.

In Russia, people called titas nine-membered and believed in the magical power of her singing. It was believed that the bird plays the role of a prophet, sounds letting you know about the impending misfortune or joy. Her voice also served as a sign that predicts the weather. "If a tit whistles, it will be a clear warm day, and if it beeps, then there will be a strong frost at night."

Ash titmouse Author photo: Becky Matsubara, CC BY 2.0

How to distinguish male tits from female?

Plumage

Females of many species are painted in the same colors as the males, but have dimmer tones in the plumage. The females of great tits are distinguished by greenish backs, soft “caps” and a black stripe on their breasts, which are thinner than those of the males. But only adult birds can be distinguished by their tone; in young tits, males resemble females.

Cloacal protrusion

A more reliable way is to measure the cloacal protrusion during the breeding season. In males, it has a sexual tubercle, in females without bulges. But it is necessary to determine it skillfully.

Mouth patch

Birds can also be distinguished by the settling spot that appears only in females.

A mottled spot is an unmoupled area of skin rich in blood vessels. They bird warms eggs.

Male (left) and female (right) Oriental tit. Author photo: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 3.0

Where do tits live?

Most tits inhabit the northern hemisphere. Birds are common in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in North America. Tits do not occur in Australia, South and Central America, Antarctica, Madagascar, the islands of the Caribbean, in New Guinea, but are present in the Sunda and Philippine Islands, as well as in Taiwan. Asia is considered the birthplace of tits, as more than half of all species of the family are found here.

On the territory of Russia lives 9, according to other data 11 species of the family:

big tit (lat. Parus major),
crested tit (lat. Lophophanes cristatus),
common blue tit (lat. Cyanistes caeruleus),
white azure (lat. Cyanistes cyanus),
tux (lat Periparus ater),
brown headed tit (lat. Poecile montanus),
blackhead tit (lat. Poecile palustris),
gray-headed tit (lat. Poecile cinctus),
yew tit (lat. Sittiparusvarius).

In summer, tits live in forests of all types, less likely to go to open areas. In the mountains, they are found up to a height of 4200 m. In the fall and winter, they gather in flocks and fly up to a person’s dwelling. The number of birds in flocks of azure trees reaches 5-15 individuals.

White tit (lat. Cyanistes cyanus) is listed in the Red Books of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. White-winged tit is included in the International Red Book (lat. Machlolophus nuchalis), living in separate groups only in the west and south of India. In the list of species that require special attention, there is a tit tit (lat. Sittiparus varius), which in Russia is found only in the South Kuriles.

Black Tit. Photo author: Ivan Medenica, CC BY-SA 4.0

What do tits eat?

Titmouses are mostly insectivorous birds. But in nature, they feed on other small invertebrates, as well as plant food. They destroy a huge number of harmful insects, their larvae, mollusks and arachnids.

The diet of family members is seasonal. In autumn and winter, when there are no insects, the feeding of the tits consists of vegetable food. At this time they arrive to human settlements. Birds frequent the feeders. Especially love sunflower seeds. A tit will take one seed into its beak, fly to the nearest branch of the tree, press it with two legs to the branch and diligently plow with its small beak. Eat one seed, fly after another.

He loves tit and bacon. You can give it to birds only raw. It is possible to feed the titmouse with oats, crumbs of white bread. Birds often fly to farms, catch flies there and steal food they give to livestock. Occasionally they may visit garbage dumps in search of food, and do not disdain carrion.

Black tit Author photo: Andreas Eichler, CC BY-SA 4.0

A characteristic feature of tits - the ability to get food, hanging upside down on the branches. So they get to the invertebrate animals hiding under the crust.

During the day, one azure eats up to 600, and according to some data up to 1600 insects or 15-20 thousand silkworm eggs. The weight of insects that a tit eats in one day is approximately equal to its own weight.

The great tit is also a predator. The mystical symbol of goodness and happiness easily pecks off the skulls of some animals and eats their brains, devours soft tissues from their bones. This fact is confirmed in relation to bats, birds: common oatmeal, sparrow, tap-dance, and pied flycatcher.

Willow tit, melohka and blue tit make stocks for the winter. They hide food throughout the year and even when they feed the chicks. But most of the stocks of birds are made in spring and autumn. They put seeds in thousands of different places, but then they all somehow find them.

White Azure. Author photo: Levashkin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Breeding tits

Birds reach sexual maturity by 9-10 months. In general, tits are monogamous, although they have known cases of bigamy. They nest in pairs, guard their territory. To begin reproduction in April and May.

At the great tit alliances begin to form long before this time. Already in the frosty days of January you can hear how they ring, chirp, and see the quarrels of the males. In the spring, during the struggle for sections, their threatening demonstrative poses, vertical flights, pulling out with a “column” and squats become especially noticeable. During stretching, the males of the great tit show each other a black spot under the tail - the main feature of their hierarchical rank and age. They also show a black cap on the head, according to which rivals easily distinguish the position of each other. Sometimes they fly upward, being opposite each other, and flutter their wings.

An important event in tits - the period of courtship. The male revolves around the female, flutters with its lowered wings, demonstrating the behavior of the chick, crouches, shows her all the designated places for the nest. The female can also demonstrate the behavior of the chick, if she liked the male. Partners show how they can manipulate the branches, which indicates their ability to build a nest, the male feeds the female.

In February, the old birds are already combined in pairs, often formed since the last breeding season. Even if the male and female wintered in different places, they find each other. Young birds spend more time searching for a partner. Tits keep the pair even in case of death of the chicks or loss of laying. During the nesting periods (spring and summer), these birds are hardly noticeable, secretive, and behave quietly. Therefore, it seems that tits fly somewhere for the summer.

Most often, tits build nests in ready hollows of trees, less often, with a shortage of places - in burrows, depressions in the ground, nesting boxes or crevices of rocks. Often they use for nesting pipes, mailboxes and other places suitable in the opinion of the birds, at least somehow suitable for breeding chicks. N.A. Zarudnyy found a big tit nest in Kazakhstan, arranged in an old camel skull. The entrance to it was the occipital foramen, and inside was a soft lining.

The brown-headed tit or puffy (the Latin lat.) Lives below all of the hollow loggers. Poecile montanus). A meter and a half from the ground, she finds herself a comfortable hollow and arranges a nest in it. But if you don’t find a hollow tree, in a rotten hemp or a dry tree, with your tiny beak, pull out a recess and settle in it. Big tits (lat. Parus major) prefer medium and even high floors (from 1-6 m to 10 m).

Ash titmouse Author photo: Alan Vernon, CC BY 2.0

Since tits build nests and start breeding in early spring, the place for chicks should be very warm. The female is more often engaged in construction, less often both parents. The nest of tits is made from plant rags, lined with a thick layer of moss, feathers, down, artificial materials and wool. Wool naschipyvayut, for example, with a haul molting on a dane, and feathers pick up where the birds of prey ate their prey. The tray of their nest usually has the shape of a cup about 5 cm deep and from 7 to 10 cm in diameter.

Гнездо большой синицы, помещавшееся в метеорологической будке города Киева, имело длину 35 см, ширину 28 см, высоту 8,5 см и весило 150 г. В этой постройке находился лоток глубиной в 40 мм и диаметром 75 мм.

Яйца обыкновенной лазоревки. Автор фото: Arnstein Rønning, CC BY-SA 3.0

Иногда синицы откладывают яйца прямо на древесную труху внутри дупла без гнезда и подстилки. Птенцов выводят 1-2, редко 3 раза в год. In laying, on average, 2-6, maximum 13, according to some data 14 white eggs with brown specks and spots of different sizes, forming a noticeable rim at the blunt end. Most often, tits have eggs with equally rounded ends.

In fiery head puppies, eggs have a dull blue-green color. The average size of a great tit egg is 17.9 x 13.7 mm. The female incubates them for 11-14 days (crested tit - 20 days). Every time the bird leaves the nest, it covers the laying with a layer of moss, which is a kind of blanket. The male feeds the female all this time, and then together with her feeds the chicks.

Eggs of the azure tit. Photo by: nottsexminer, CC BY-SA 2.0

The development of the tit bird lasts about 1 month. Newborn chicks weigh 1-1.3 g, they look completely naked, because the feathers growing on the shoulders, head and back stick to their body. They have ocular cracks and auditory passages, but they are already capable of issuing a barely audible squeak.

The most chicks grow in the first 10 days. 4 days after birth, the cubs open the auditory passages, and on the 8th day they become completely sighted. At the age of 11 days from the moment of hatching they become similar to adult birds. They are covered with feathers, but their feather cover is not yet fully formed.

Nestlings of the azure tit. Author photo: Ladarozan, CC BY-SA 3.0

Nestlings of the azure tit. Author photo: Arnstein Rønning, CC BY-SA 3.0

Parents arrive at the nest 400-600 times a day. When little bluebirths grow up and fly out of the nest for 15-22 days, parental care of the offspring does not end there. Tiny still 2 weeks remain together mom and dad.

The second time the tits hatch chicks at the end of the summer, laying fewer eggs than the first time. Birds can nest in the same place or make a new nest.

Chicks big tits. Author photo: Arnstein Rønning, CC BY-SA 3.0

The benefits and harm of tits in nature

In practical terms, tits are more interesting than other birds that destroy harmful forest insects. The importance of these birds for forestry is explained by the fact that, unlike most other insectivorous birds, they do not fly away with the onset of autumn. They continue to intensively destroy pests in the winter months. In addition, tits, well adapted to life in the forest or garden, can find and extract prey inaccessible to other birds. All this gives reason to refer tits to the most useful representatives of avifauna.

Tits, like starlings, are the best caretakers of our gardens, so people try to attract them to their homes, build blueprints for birds and equip feeders.

Tits are very convenient as model animals when studying the behavior and ecology of birds. Genetics also use them for scientific purposes.

Tits can cause damage to the human economy. In late autumn and winter, they attack the apiary, knock on tap-holes and wake the bees. For the most part, birds do damage not by eating a certain number of insects, but by keeping them awake. Agitated bees become ill with Nosema, which is accompanied by indigestion and diarrhea (diarrhea). Insects do not eat feces soiled with feces and die.

Gold-crested tit Author photo: Dibyendu Ash, CC BY-SA 3.0

Feeder for tits: species and photos

Of the 10 tits in the cold northern winters, only one survives. The reason is the lack of food. To maintain a constant body temperature, which is 40 ° in birds, they need a lot of energy. If at night the air temperature drops below 10 °, then the tits lose up to 10% of their weight at a time. We can help if we feed the birds in the morning after a cold night so that they can continue to search for food on their own during the day.

If you make an open feeder and feeder-house, they will visit not only tits, but many other birds. There is inevitable competition and possible injury. Since sparrows and pigeons are more adapted to getting food in winter, it is best for titmouses to make individual “anti-sparing” structures.

For tits, you can make the following types of feeders:

Hopper feeders

Food in such a feeder is in a container, it is closed from precipitation, and its rash is governed by the amount eaten by birds in the dosing compartment.

Trough with a secret

For tits, as birds are more savvy than sparrows and pigeons, they sometimes make feeders with a secret so that birds take the seeds one by one.

Photo by: Tony Alter, CC BY 2.0

Suspended feeders made of wire and durable materials

These are designs based on the ability of tits to hang upside down and thus obtain food. For example, suspended in the form of a grid of durable thick wire.

Nutritious balls and whole nuts for spitting can be put into such feeders. In addition, you can simply hang the nutrient mixture on the wire, cones, etc.

Author photo: Ann Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0

Grids of plastic and too light materials can not be used.

Birds sit down on the feeders on the fly, may get tangled in the net or similar materials and break their paws.

Such feeders can not be used for birds. Photo by: Arend, CC BY 2.0

What to feed tits in autumn and winter? Feed for feeders

Ornithologists believe that birds should not be given a large amount of food. Otherwise, tits can stop looking for and eat natural food, and this is extremely important for the survival of birds. The amount of feed should be distributed by period.

First period - prikormochny, from mid-October until the end of November.

At this time of the year tits are still reluctant to eat the proposed products, get used to the trough. In the autumn birds give 15-20% of the feed from the daily requirement.

Main period - from early December to early March.

The most difficult time for tits. You can give them a full rate, but in no case can not overfeed them.

Final period - before the appearance of the first thaws.

During this period, birds give 60-80% of the norm.

The rates of some feeds for one feeder per day:

50 grams of raw meat,
200 g of cereal mixture (millet, sunflower seeds, hemp, crushed wheat, oats or oatmeal),
200 g of weed seeds.

Photo by: Johan Hansson, CC BY 2.0

Good food for birds that you can treat tits:

non-fried and unsalted sunflower seeds,
oats,
millet,
pearl barley
lentils
peas,
crushed pumpkin and watermelon seeds,
white bread crumbs
Rowan berries, viburnum, elderberry, wild rose,
seeds of nettle, quinoa, burdock, hemp,
low-fat cottage cheese mixed with breadcrumbs,
peanuts and nuts (for flat feeders, they need to be crushed with a knife),
cedar kernels,
fruits and dried fruits,
hard-boiled and shredded egg and its shell,
raw meat and unsalted lard.

Do not give tits:

chips,
black bread,
shop salty crackers,
roasted and salted sunflower seeds,
roast,
smoked
salty
cheese.

Graphite tit. Author photo: Derek Keats, CC BY 2.0

How to catch a tit?

Ornithologists catch birds to ring them and see what kind of flights they make, find out how much they live, etc. Catching birds is better in the early morning, winter or late autumn. To do this, use a transparent trap with automatically slamming the door. As a bait, a bird model and feed are placed inside.

How to scare tits?

In winter, tits can fly to the balconies in search of food, knock out insulation, fill up droppings with window sills, make loud noises. If it became impossible to live with these problems, it’s time to think about how to remove birds from their windows.

Hang the feeders away from windows and balconies and do not forget to regularly fill in food in them.
Build "antiprisses" (thin wire near the curb, spikes), lubricate the railing with a slippery grease.
Create a situation of discomfort: hang the lamp with flash mode, shiny objects with noise effect, such as discs or ribbons, blue flags, scare away birds with unpleasant smells (for example, the smell of onions).
Put a scarecrow or a model of a bird of prey, glue pictures of the owl's eyes or a cat's head, turn on the bioacoustic device with sounds of clapping of wings of predators, cries of distress of birds.
Get a cat that will scare tits from the balcony.

Anti-spiked window spikes

The maintenance of tits at home

Thanks to gullibility, glibness and unpretentiousness, many types of tits are often kept in cages. Freshly caught birds immediately take up the food they are offered. They can even be made completely tame. All kinds of tits, except for the big one, can be kept in groups. Great tit kills small birds.

Since the bird is very mobile, the cage or aviary for it should be spacious, at least 60-70 cm in length, 60 cm in width, 80 cm in height, with a deep pan (from 10-15 cm). It should be equipped with a titmouse, a drinker, branches of deciduous trees with bark instead of plastic poles, a bathing tank and several removable external feeders. The first time of life in the cage, the tit will look for water at the bottom, in the pan. Over time, she will get used, and the dishes can be moved higher.

Taiwanese tit Photo author: Robert tdc, CC BY-SA 2.0

What to feed tits at home?

Birds of this family are quite unpretentious in food. They eat often and much. Tits in a cage can be fed:

a mixture of carrots and crackers with cottage cheese,
boiled chicken eggs
white bread dipped in milk or sweet tea
dried insect powder,
thick porridge
fruits,
tree buds
flour worms.

Feed the tits need 2 times a day, pouring as much as they can eat. All birds need extra vitamins, especially B1.

Types of food may vary depending on the type of tits. For example, a home cook needs another meal at home:

peeled pine nuts - 5-6 pcs.,
feed "Padovan" for insectivores, it can be all tits,
sprouts grain mixture
sprouted sunflower seeds,
slices of apples, cucumbers, rowan berries,
Herbs: moorite, bird mountaineer, dandelion, tradescantia,
mealworm larvae - mealworms and their pupae,
hard boiled egg.

Reddish tit. Author photo: Becky Matsubara, CC BY 2.0

How to feed a tit chick?

It is necessary to feed a very small, still not penned baby bird often - every 2-2.5 hours, later the intervals can be increased up to 3-4 hours. At night, take a break from 12 to 6 h. You can feed it with a “nightingale mixture” consisting of hard boiled eggs, grated raw carrots and grated white bread crumbs. At the same time on 1 egg take half the average carrot and so many crackers that the mass was wet, but not sticky to the hands. Carrots are better to rub on a grater, from which thin long sticks come out.

From time to time, the mixture can be replaced:

chopped low-fat cottage cheese,
daphnia or gammarus
crushed sunflower seeds,
thin slices of chicken or beef meat.

You can feed the chick with a syringe, pipette or spoon. In the process of caring for him to follow his fatness. It is important that under his tail and in the “fork” (accrete clavicles) there are layers of yellow fat.

Common tit Author photo: Sergey Cherny, CC BY-SA 3.0

Interesting facts about tits

The first law on the protection of tits was issued by the archbishop of the German city of Trier at the beginning of the XIII century. Later in the decree of Ludwig of Bavaria from 1328 it was said: “A heavy penalty awaits the one who catches a bird, an eager insect catcher. The one who broke the law must pay the royal file of 60 shillings, as well as give a beautiful redhead and 12 chickens as compensation. ”
Tit - very smart and intelligent bird. If you hang a piece of delicacy on a thread inside the bottle, she first tries to peck it through the glass. And then he will sit on the neck and become a beak to pull the thread. If the thread is too long, the bird will hold it with its foot.
The titmouse is the name of the river, the left tributary of the Yauza, which in the Lefortovo district in Moscow is completely enclosed in a collector.
If you catch a tit and put it on its back, it falls into a kind of stupor, pretending to be dead.
In tsarist times in Russia, a note of payment in denominations of 5 rubles was called a tit for the blue light of its background.
In Russia, November 12th is a tit festival. The ecological holiday “Sinichkin Day” was organized on the initiative of the Russian Bird Conservation Union.

Common blue tit. Author photo: Maximilian Dorsch, CC BY-SA 3.0

Great Tit Habitats

This is a sedentary bird, only in severe frosts, when there is an acute shortage of food, it can change its habitat. As a rule, migration is the result of moving closer to human habitation. Widely distributed throughout Europe with the exception of the far north and Iceland, it is found in North Africa and the Middle East. In Southeast Asia, it lives in Japan and throughout Indochina up to the island of Java and the island of Borneo. You can't meet a big bird in the north of Siberia, among solid coniferous forests and in the highlands. The big tit is not afraid of people, it actively inhabits the city squares and parks, gladly flies to the feeders and even pecks on food from a human hand.

Big Tit Songs

Great tits - birds singers. Males, winning a pair, sing more diverse females and do it almost the whole year, except for the winter months. There are about 40 different sounds made by tits. The voiced ones stand out in particular: “tsi-tsi-tsi-pi”, “in-chi-in-chi”, shouting - “pin-pin-chrrzh”. In the spring, the song is more monotonous “zin-zi-ver”, “zin-zin”. The Great Tits sing especially intensely during the breeding season: from March to the second half of May and from the second half of June to the end of July. Autumn singing begins in August, intensifies in mid-September and ends in the first decade of October. In addition to the singing itself, the tits perform the so-called under-song - melodious, quiet chirping, “purring”, sounding most often in February or March.

Breeding big tits

Usually Big tits lay two clutches: at the end of April and in the middle of summer. In the first clutch there are up to 15 white, slightly brilliant eggs, but more often 8 - 12. Over the entire surface, the eggs are covered with reddish-brown spots and specks forming a rim on the blunt side. The second clutch is usually 2 eggs smaller. The tit hatches eggs 12-14 days. During this time, the male provides food for the female. A tit flies up from the nest only when danger approaches. The first two or three days the hatched chicks are covered with grayish down, so the female does not leave the nest, heating them with its heat. The male at this time acts as a breadwinner. When the chicks begin to be covered with feathers, the couple feeds offspring, bringing an average of 6-7 g of food per nest per day to the nest.

Chicks fly off the nest at about 22 second day after birth. After departure, they keep a flock near the nest, and parents continue to feed them for one or two weeks. If the female starts the second clutch, the male leads the first brood.

In the summer, the Great Tits feed mainly on insects; midges, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, caterpillars, and crickets eat. Nestlings are fed with the highest-calorie insects, namely caterpillars. With the onset of winter cold, tits are switching to vegetable food. They feed mainly on seeds and cereals. These birds do not make stocks for the winter and if they find food hidden by other species of birds, they eat it with pleasure. Do not disdain tits and carrion.