In winter in our country you can often see small birds with very beautiful plumage. Who are we talking about? Of course, about titmouse. These representatives of the passerine order are frequent guests of feeders. Tits belong to the tit family, there are approximately 100 species of them in the world. The best-known and most well-studied are the great tit, the Indian bird tit, the gray tit, and the eastern tit.
By what external signs can titmouse be recognized
The body length of the birds is approximately 10 - 16 centimeters, one bird weighs 8 - 20 grams. The wings of these little flyers are short and rounded. The plumage has a smooth structure, sometimes there are titmouses, in which the head is decorated with a funny crest. The paws are small, but quite tenacious.
The color of the feathers is very diverse, each individual species has its own shades of plumage, however, you can name the colors most often found in the color of these birds: white, brown, gray, yellow, blue, black and some others.
Where do bluebirds live?
The northern hemisphere is considered the exclusive habitat of these birds. They are found on the continents of Eurasia, North America and Africa.
Natural habitats, lifestyle and behavior of tits
The preferred natural habitats for tits are forest-tundra, tugai forests, jungles and mountainous areas, where they are found up to a height of 2-3 thousand meters.
The way of life of tits is predominantly sedentary, although some species periodically roam.
Whiskered tits (Panurus biarmicus): the male sits lower, the female sits higher These little birds are very active. In the summer months, they prefer to live and hunt alone, but in winter they gather in small flocks (10-15 individuals each). The birds communicate with each other with a “squeaky” chirp, vaguely reminiscent of the sounds “blue-blue-blue”, from which they got their name - “tits”.
Titmouse diet
Depending on the season, the nutrition of these birds is constantly being rebuilt: in summer and in the spring months, titmouse eat insects (caterpillars, beetles, flies) and spiders, closer to autumn, ripe seeds and berries of fruit trees become their main food. Many representatives of these birds prepare supplies for themselves for the winter. In addition, with the advent of winter, tits, going in search of food, collect cone seeds and eat them. It is not uncommon for these birds, having once tasted food from the feeder, become regular guests of these human inventions. Every day they fly up and look - is there a new portion of delicious grains waiting for them there?
Breeding
The breeding season of titmouse occurs 2-3 times a year. Starting from February - March, in the places where these birds live, sonorous mating trills are heard. Usually a pair is created and kept for several years, because tits are monogamous birds. Titmouse arrange their nests for breeding offspring in secluded places hidden from prying eyes.
Often one female tit lays from three to eight eggs. She hatches chicks for almost 2 weeks (from 11 to 14 days). When the babies were born, a caring mother for the first few days of their life does not leave the nest at all. The young brood keeps together for the first time after leaving the nest. Titmouse chicks become fully grown at the ninth to tenth month of age.
In the wild, these representatives of the passerine order live no more than three years.
Natural enemies of titmouse
In nature, titmouse are hunted by martens, wild forest cats, and also owls. But a very large number of these birds die from lack of food during the cold winter months.
I think everyone knows what the Great Tit or Great Tit, the Latin name for Parus major, looks like. Along with the dove, sparrow, jackdaw and crow, tits are the most frequent feathered inhabitants of cities and other populated areas. This is the largest bird from the tit family, it belongs to the order of passerines, the genus Titmouse and forms a separate species.
Habitats of the Great Tit
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 a movement closer to human habitation. Widespread throughout Europe except for the far north and Iceland, 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 will not meet the great tit in the north of Siberia, among continuous coniferous forests and in the highlands. The great tit is not afraid of people, actively settles in city squares and parks, happily flies to feeders and even pecks food from a human hand.
Appearance of the Great Tit
This is the largest bird of all tits found in Russia. A little bigger and much bigger or Gaichki. Its length is from 13 to 17 centimeters, weight is about 20 grams, and the wingspan is 22 - 26 centimeters, the tail is long. In other words, the Great Tit is about the size of a sparrow, but it is impossible to confuse them because of the bright plumage of tits.
The Great Tit has a bright yellow or lemon belly with a black longitudinal stripe in the middle, called a tie. The tie on the abdomen in males expands to the bottom, while in females it narrows. This is one of the few differences between males and females of the Great Tit, besides this, females are more faded in color. There is a blue-black cap with a metallic sheen on the head, and a yellowish-white spot on the back of the head. The cheeks are white, there is a black ring around the neck. The throat and chest are black with a slight bluish tint. The back is yellowish green, fading to bluish gray on the loins and rump, with a slight olive sheen on the shoulders. The wings and tail are bluish, with a thin white stripe on the wings. The tail is long.
Songs of the Great Tit
Great tits are songbirds. Males who conquer a pair sing more variedly than females and do this almost all year, except for the winter months. There are about 40 different sounds made by tits. Voiced ones stand out especially: “qi-qi-qi-pi”, “ying-chi-ying-chi”, cry - “pin-pin-chrrrzh”. In spring, the song is more monotonous “zin-zi-ver”, “zin-zin”. Great tits sing especially intensively 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 stops in the first ten days of October. In addition to actually singing, tits perform the so-called subsong - a melodic quiet chirping, “purring”, which sounds most often in February or March.
Lifestyle
The great tit prefers deciduous and mixed forests. Lives in open areas along rivers and along the shores of lakes, on the edges and in light forests. In Siberia, it does not settle further than 10-15 kilometers from a human dwelling. It prefers to feed on the branches of trees and shrubs, it descends reluctantly to the ground. In winter, tits massively migrate closer to humans.
In cities, parks, squares and gardens are perfect for her. The destruction of large tracts of forest by man and the increase in light forests has led to an increase in the number of these birds.
Usually Great Tits live in flocks, breaking into pairs only for the period of nesting and breeding. These are usually monogamous birds, cases of polygamy are rare. Pairs remain for several years
The nesting period of the Great Tit depends on the area where it lives. In the south of Russia, males begin their courtship at the end of February, and in the center of the country about two weeks later. The breeding season lasts until the end of September. During the period of pair formation and nesting, males become aggressive towards competitors.
The nest of Great Tits is built in hollows of trees at a height of 2-5 meters from the ground. They can also capture other people's nests, if there is not enough space on the trees, they use any shelter, titmouses, birdhouses, mouse holes and cracks in the rocks. Near human habitation, the great tit can arrange nests in the most unexpected places. The nests of these birds were found in drain pipes, in street lighting poles, in hollow metal pipes of fences, in mailboxes, behind the cladding of the walls of buildings and even in the muzzle of a cannon, most importantly, in an enclosed space. Cases when Great Tits equip open nests are extremely rare.
The females build the nest, the males do not participate in the process. The size of the nest depends on the place of its construction, but its internal structure is always the same. Inside the recess, the female makes a small tray, 5-6 cm in circumference. Its depth can be 4-5 cm. The tray is lined with small twigs, leaves, moss, cobwebs, fluff and animal hair.
Reproduction of the Great Tit
Usually Great Tits lay two clutches: in late April and in mid-summer. In the first clutch there are up to 15 white, slightly shiny eggs, but more often 8 - 12. All over the surface of the eggs are covered with reddish-brown spots and speckles, forming a corolla on the blunt side. The second clutch is usually 2 eggs smaller. The tit incubates eggs for 12-14 days. During this time, the male provides food for the female. The tit takes off from the nest only when danger approaches. For the first two or three days, the hatched chicks are covered with grayish fluff, so the female does not leave the nest, heating them with her warmth. The male at this time acts as a breadwinner. When the chicks begin to become covered with feathers, the couple nurses the offspring, bringing an average of 6-7 g of food per chick per day to the nest.
The chicks leave the nest about 22 days after birth. After emergence, they stay in a flock near the nest, and their parents continue to feed them for one or two weeks. If the female starts the second clutch, the first brood is led by the male.
In summer, Great Tits feed mainly on insects; midges, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, caterpillars, and crickets are eaten. Chicks are fed the most high-calorie of insects, namely caterpillars. With the onset of winter cold, tits switch to plant foods. They feed mainly on seeds and cereals. These birds do not stock up for the winter, and if they find food hidden by other bird species, they eat it with pleasure. Do not disdain tits and carrion.
The great tit or big tit (lat. Parus major) is a bird of the passerine order, the tit family, the genus tit.
Titmouse on a mushroom. 
Titmouse: artistic photo. 
The origin of the name of the bird has no exact scientific confirmation. According to one version, the tit got its name due to the characteristic singing "zin-zin" or "sin-sin". Another version suggests that the name is associated with the word "blue", which had a broad meaning in Rus': this is how the bird with a black cap with a blue tint was called.
Tit in flight 
Tit in flight 
What does a tit look like?
The largest representatives of the species are similar in size to sparrows. The body length of an adult is 13-17 cm, weight is from 14 to 21 g, the wingspan reaches 22-26 cm.
The tit bathes 
Among feathered relatives, tits are distinguished by their long tail and bright plumage. Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed and consists in a duller plumage of females. The head of males is covered with a black cap with a blue metallic sheen, on the back of the head there is a yellow-white spot, which in young individuals is small and blurry. Females are distinguished by a hat of a dark gray shade. The tops of young individuals are painted in brown or brown-olive color.
The abdomen of both sexes is bright yellow, the cheeks are white. The black "tie" extending from the chest to the rump is wider in males, narrower and sometimes intermittent in females.
The neck of tits is surrounded by a black "collar", in females it is thinner. The color of the back can be yellow-green or gray-blue, on the shoulders it casts an olive color. Wings and tail are bluish. The three extreme steering wings are distinguished by white tops that make up a transverse strip.
The upper and middle wing coverts of males form a greenish-blue border at the ends, in females the border is greenish-gray. The undertail of females is whiter than that of males.
The modern classification distinguishes more than 30 subspecies of the tit, which differ in the shade of plumage and the saturation of white.
Range and habitat features
A nimble, fidgeting bird lives throughout Eurasia and northwest Africa. Inhabits all European countries, except Iceland and the north of the Scandinavian countries. Island populations are common in Cyprus, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and also in the British Isles.
Most tits are sedentary birds, migrations are observed in case of extremely severe winters. They prefer to live in mixed and deciduous forests, wooded hills, where they are found on the edges and along the banks of rivers and lakes. The favorite habitat of tits is oak groves with many voids in tree trunks.
Tit in flight 
In lean years, part of the birds migrate to villages and villages, to the outskirts of fields and forest plantations, as well as to city squares and parks.
What do tits eat?
In spring and summer, the basis of the diet of tits is animal feed - insects and their larvae, including many pests. Butterfly caterpillars, various beetles (weevils, dung beetles, leaf beetles), dipterous (flies, mosquitoes, midges), arthropods (bugs, horseflies, aphids) are eaten.
Tits and woodpecker at the feeder 
The menu also includes cockroaches, dragonflies, ground beetles, grasshoppers, ants, ticks, centipedes and even bees, with their stingers previously torn off. In early spring, tits willingly eat dwarf bats, sleepy after hibernation.
Tit with seeds 
In autumn and winter, tits switch to plant foods, when the diet consists mainly of seeds of plants harvested in the forest and in the fields. These can be seeds of spruce, pine, maple, linden, birch, oxalis, burdock, elderberry, mountain ash and currant.
Tits sort things out 
After harvesting, tits feed on the remains of rye, wheat, corn and oats, they will not fly around sunflower and hemp.
Tits do not make their own stocks for the winter, but they easily find and gladly empty other people's caches of food.
Tit on a tree 
In winter, bird feeders with sunflower seeds, unsalted bacon and bread are extremely popular among tits. Titmouse and carrion do not disdain, and they also like to eat nuts, splitting the shell with a hard beak.
Breeding tits
Most tits are monogamous and remain faithful to the chosen one for several years. The breeding season starts in January and lasts until September. During this time, the couple manages to become parents twice.
Titmouse on rowan 
The first calling trills of the male can be heard in February - early March. Fluffy males playfully jump in front of females from branch to branch, outline the place of the future nest in the air, and present food to the chosen ones.
Tit cub 
Tit nests are built both traditionally - in hollows of trees, and in the most unexpected places. These can be mouse holes, voids under the roofs and in the walls of buildings, rock crevices, as well as titmouses. Sometimes a pair occupies an abandoned magpie or squirrel nesting site.
Females personally build nests from twigs, moss and dry grass stalks. The bottom is lined with bird feathers, animal hair, spider cocoons, cotton wool and threads. The diameter of the nest is 4-6 cm, the depth is 4-5 cm.
The first laying occurs at the end of April. The clutch contains 5 to 12 white, glossy red-brown speckled eggs. The second time tits breed in June, and the clutch contains 2 eggs less.
Tits actively communicate 
The female does not leave the nest for 12-14 days, all this time the male feeds her. Newborn chicks covered with gray down are fed by both parents, and the diet consists exclusively of butterfly caterpillars, no more than 1 cm long.
Tits on a sunflower 
After 3 weeks, the chicks are already able to fly, but for another week they are in the care of their parents. The second offspring does not leave the vicinity of the nest for a month and a half, until autumn, when tits begin to gather in flocks.
The maximum recorded lifespan of a tit is 15 years. But not every titmouse is destined to become a long-liver: adults often become victims of sparrowhawks, and tit nests are often ruined by squirrels, weasels and woodpeckers.
See also:
Which animal eats birds, you will learn from this article.
What animals eat birds?
Who would have thought that such a herbivorous animal as a squirrel in the summer cannot do without animal food? This little animal is an enemy for insectivorous birds. Often, the squirrel occupies birdhouses and if they are busy, then it eats eggs and chicks. The squirrel also attacks song thrushes, destroying their nests and eating them.
Another enemy of birds is dormouse - forest, garden, hazel. She not only prevents small birds from nesting near her habitat, but also eats eggs, chicks and the very birds that incubate the eggs.
Mammals are also not averse to feasting on birds from time to time. For example, weasels, foxes, martens, hedgehogs and polecats catch birds on the fly or attack from an ambush. Particularly dangerous for nesting birds are martens, which climb trees beautifully.
Even birds can eat birds. Everyone knows crows may eat starlings or tit chicks. In the steppe areas, the enemies of tits, starlings and other birds are snakes, especially snakes and vipers. They can also climb trees and destroy nests.
But there are also special types of animals that eat birds. They are hunted by African tiger fish. Scientists have recently made several observations of fish and filmed 20 cases of tiger fish hunting for swallows. The researchers note that aquatic predators calculate the flight speed of swallows and the angle of refraction of sunlight above the water and jump at lightning speed. Having caught the bird by the wing, the fish drags it under the water.
Titmouse (lat. Paridae) is a family of birds of the order Passerines, suborder Singing Passerines. In addition to the birds of the above family, there are other birds with the name "titmouse", namely:
- Family Long-tailed tits, or polovniki (lat. Aegithalidae),
- Family Whiskered tits (lat. panurus), with the only species included in it is the Mustachioed Tit (lat. Panurus biarmicus),
- Taxon Sutorovye, or thick-billed tits. Systematics have not yet found a place for him in the classification.
This article will focus on the birds of the Sinitsev family.
The etymology of the word, or why the bird was called a titmouse
Once upon a time, a tit was called a “tit” and even a “zinziver”. The original origin of the bird's name is attributed to its song - "zin-zin". Later it changed a little, the word "tit" began to mean the characteristic, albeit implicit shades of the animal's plumage. Scientists call this process folk-etymological rapprochement.
The word appeared among the Slavic peoples and in some languages it is pronounced almost the same. In Ukrainian it is a tit, in Croatian it is sjenica, in Belarusian it is a tit.
Titmouse: description and photo. What does a titmouse look like?
The family includes birds that are similar to each other both in appearance and in lifestyle. They are small, with a body length of 10-20 cm, with a wingspan of 16-26 cm. Titmouses weigh from 7 to 48 grams.
The smallest representative 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 pseudo-jay (lat. Pseudopodoces humilis) with a body size of 19-20 cm and a weight of 45-48 g.
The head of the tit is large, with small round eyes. The iris of the pupil is often dark, only in the Steller's tit (lat. Melaniparus guineensis) it is whitish, and in some species (for example, the dark tit (lat. Melaniparus funereus) and crested tit (lat. Lophophanes cristatus)) is reddish.
Many species have a “cap” of a contrasting color on their heads, and some have a crest of elongated crown feathers.
The beak of birds is often short, straight, cone-shaped, strong, rounded from above, and flattened from the sides. Sometimes it is very sharp. The Tibetan titmouse has a long beak and is bent down. Birds can break seeds or tree bark with it to get larvae and insects.
Rounded nostrils are located at the base of the beak, they are covered with short bristle-like feathers.
The wings of tits are blunt, small - up to 77 mm long, with 10 primary flight feathers. The first of them is the shortest, about half as long as the second.
The tail in some species is long (up to 64 mm), in others it is short, with a small notch at the end or with a smooth edge. Consists of 12 tail feathers.
The flight of birds is pulsating and uneven. A flying tit is more like a breaststroke swimmer. By rapidly flapping its wings several times, the bird flies by inertia, saving energy, and then a new series of strokes follows.
The flying capabilities of the representatives of the family are small. But this is not very important for them: the entire route at the titmouse is from tree to tree, from forest to forest, from fence to fence. But in flight, the tit manages to catch skillful flyers - insects.
Titmouse move perfectly in the crown of trees both vertically and horizontally, they can be hung from below to cones and branches. Strong muscles and sharp, tenacious claws help to perform various acrobatic stunts in search of insects, about which there is even a proverb: “A tit is small, but a claw is sharp.”
Indeed, the legs of the birds are quite long, strong, with strong fingers and curved sharp claws. The strongest claw is on the back toe.
The plumage of tits is thick and soft. The gender difference in coloration is most often weakly expressed. But there are exceptions:
- For example, the marriage attire of males and females of the fire-headed remez (lat. Cephalopyrus flammiceps) is noticeable well, and the rest of the time they differ little.
- Male African dark tit (lat. Parus funereus) is entirely black, the female is dark gray.
Young birds differ from old ones only in paler tones of color. All species of the family molt once a year: after the nesting period, they change their plumage completely, and not partially. First-year-olds change their feathers in the very first autumn of their lives.
The feather of the titmouse is colored brightly and contrastingly. The difference between the types of tits is expressed in their colors. Usually, the color of their plumage combines white, black, reddish, gray, bluish tones, due to the presence of melanin pigment. Lipochrome pigments present in some species give greenish and yellow tones to the color of birds.
As a rule, birds have a “cap” that contrasts with the color of the cheeks, a “tie”, throat spots, margins on the feathers of the wings and tail. The sister of the great tit, the blue tit, has light blue, azure feathers on its head and wings. Only the Himalayan warbler tit (lat. Sylviparus modestus) is not painted too brightly, in greenish-olive tones. The beak and legs of tits are most often gray.
How does a tit sing?
Tits sing monotonously, but pleasantly. Their singing depends on the species. Sometimes these are melodic and pure trills, whistles, squeaks, chirps. You can hear their voice from early February to June, as well as at the end of summer.
There are 2 main types of tit song: demonstrative, with the help of which birds attract partners, and territorial. In addition to the main species, there is also a voiced call characteristic of all titmouse: “chi-chi”, “si-si”, “zin-zin” or “dze-dze”. The great tit sings more difficult than others; experts identify 40 variants of the sounds it makes.
In Russia, the people called the tit with nine words and believed in the magical power of its singing. It was believed that the bird plays the role of a prophet, with sounds it lets you know about the upcoming trouble or joy. Her voice also served as a sign predicting the weather. “If a tit whistles, then there will be a clear warm day, and if it squeaks, then there will be severe frost at night.”
How to distinguish a male titmouse from a female?
- Plumage
The females of many species are the same colors as the males, but have duller plumage tones. Females of the great tit are distinguished by greenish backs, dim "hats" and a thinner black stripe on the chest than that of males. But only adult birds can be distinguished by tone; in young tits, males look like females.
- cloacal protrusion
A more reliable way is to measure the cloacal protrusion during the breeding season. In males, it has a genital tubercle, in females, without bulges. But you have to know how to define it.
- sitting spot
Birds can also be distinguished by the brood spot, which appears only in females.
The brood spot is an unfeathered area of skin rich in blood vessels. The bird warms the eggs with them.
Male (left) and female (right) eastern tit. Photo credit: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 3.0
Where do tits live?
Most of the tits live in the Northern Hemisphere. Birds are common in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in North America. Tits are not found in Australia, South and Central America, Antarctica, Madagascar, the Caribbean, New Guinea, but are present in the Sunda and Philippine Islands, as well as Taiwan. Asia is considered the birthplace of tits, since more than half of all species of the family are found here.
On the territory of Russia there are 9, according to other sources, 11 species of the family:
- great tit (lat. Parus major);
- crested tit (lat. Lophophanes cristatus);
- common blue tit (lat. Cyanistes caeruleus);
- blue tit (lat. Cyanistes cyanus);
- Muscovite (lat. Periparus ater);
- brown-headed tit (lat. Poecile montanus);
- black-headed tit (lat. Poecile palustris);
- gray-headed chickadee (lat. Poecile cinctus);
- yew tit (lat. Sittiparusvarius).
In summer, tits live in forests of all types, less often they get out into open areas. In the mountains they are found up to a height of 4200 m. In autumn and winter, they gather in flocks and fly up to human habitation. The number of birds in flocks of blue tit reaches 5-15 individuals.
Lazorevka white (lat. Cyanistes cyanus) is listed in the Red Books of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. The white-winged tit (lat. Machlolophus nuchalis), living in separate groups only in the west and south of India. The list of species in need of special attention includes the yew tit (lat. Sittiparus varius), which in Russia is found only in the South Kuriles.
What do tits eat?
Titmouses are mainly insectivorous birds. But in nature, they also feed on other small invertebrates, as well as plant foods. They destroy a huge number of harmful insects, their larvae, molluscs and arachnids.
The diet of members of the family is seasonal. In autumn and winter, when there are no insects, the feeding of tits consists of vegetable food. At this time, they fly to human settlements. Birds often visit feeders. Especially love sunflower seeds. The titmouse will take one seed in its beak, fly to the nearest tree branch, press it with two paws to the branch and diligently peck with its small beak. Eats one seed, flies after another.
Likes titmouse and fat. You can give it to birds only in its raw form. You can feed the titmouse with oats, white bread crumbs. Birds often fly to farms, catch flies there and steal food that is given to livestock. Occasionally they can visit garbage dumps in search of food, and do not disdain carrion.
Titmouse eat:
- cicadas;
- ground beetles;
- goldfish;
- soft-boiled;
- barbels;
- leaf beetles;
- weevils;
- sawflies;
- fire bug;
- gypsy moth;
- cabbage girls;
- hawthorns;
- scoop;
- seeds;
- berries;
- rosehip seeds;
- leaves;
- flowers;
- needles;
- pieces of bark;
- pieces of tinder and more. others
A characteristic feature of tits is the ability to get food by hanging upside down on branches. So they get to the invertebrates hiding under the bark.
During the day, one blue tit eats up to 600, and according to some sources 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 through the skulls of some animals and eats their brains, eats soft tissue from the bones. This fact has been confirmed in relation to birds: common bunting, tap dance, pied flycatcher.
The brown-headed chickadee, moskovka and blue tit stockpile for the winter. They hide food all year round and even when they are nursing their chicks. But most of the bird stocks are made in spring and autumn. They put the seeds in a thousand different places, but they all find them somehow.
How tits live: the lifestyle of birds
Tits are very mobile diurnal birds. In search of food, they search all the tiers of the forest, from the upper branches to the forest floor. Birds' need for food is very high, so they spend the whole day searching.
Tits are not migratory birds, and in winter they do not fly south. Among the representatives of the family there are sedentary and nomadic species, and, by the way, the migrations of the latter can be very significant. For example, young tits ringed near Moscow were caught in many European countries, including Italy.
The habits of different types of tits are different, but most of them are very similar. In autumn and winter, birds are kept in mixed flocks, in which, in addition to tits, nuthatches, woodpeckers and pikas look for food. In frosts, tits spend the night in the snow near a tree trunk, the rest of the days they spend in hollows in groups, closely huddled in a fluffy ball. Birds adapt well to different conditions. In winter, they become partially synanthropic animals.
Synanthropic are animals, plants and microorganisms whose life is connected with a person and his housing.
Also, tits can fly into loggias and balconies and steal people's supplies. In the UK, cunning birds open bottles of milk with soft foil caps to get at the cream. In this country, people save milk from tits only by covering the bottles with something on top. Closer to spring, tits fly to the forests, where they prepare for breeding.
Blue Tit (left) and Great Tit (right). Photo by: Tatiana Gerus, CC BY-SA 2.0
Family classification Titmouse ( Paridae)
The family includes 14 genera with 60 species and many subspecies. Below is the classification of the family Paridae according to datazone.birdlife.org (data from November 2018).
Genus Baeolophus
- Baeolophus atricristatus– Black-crested tit
- Baeolophus bicolor- Sharp-crested tit
- Baeolophus inornatus– Ash Tit
- Baeolophus ridgwayi– Gray Crested Tit
- Baeolophus wollweberi- American grenadier
Genus Cephalopyrus- Firehead Remez
- Cephalopyrus flammiceps- Firehead Remez
Genus Cyanistes – Lazorevka
- Cyanistes caeruleus– common blue tit
- Cyanistes cyanus- White tit, or Prince
- Cyanistes teneriffae– African blue tit
Genus Lophophanes– Crested tits
- Lophophanes cristatus– Crested Tit
- Lophophanes dichrous– Grey-crested tit
Genus Machlolophus
- Machlolophus holsti– Taiwan Tit
- Machlolophus nuchalis– White-winged Tit
- Machlolophus spilonotus– Royal tit
- Machlolophus xanthogenys– Indian tit
Genus Melaniparus
- Melaniparus afer– East African tit
- Melaniparus albiventris– Hooded Tit
- Melaniparus carpi- Sinitsa Karpova
- Melaniparus cinerascens– Ash Tit
- Melaniparus fasciiventer– Striped Tit
- Melaniparus fringillinus– Red-throated Tit
- Melaniparus funereus– Dark tit
- Melaniparus griseiventris– Grey-bellied tit
- Melaniparus guineensis– White-shouldered tit
- Melaniparus leucomelas– Mourning tit
- Melaniparus leuconotus– White-backed Tit
- Melaniparus niger– Graphite Tit
- Melaniparus pallidiventris
- Melaniparus rufiventris– Red-bellied Tit
- Melaniparus thruppi– Somali tit
Genus Melanochlora
- Melanochlora sultanea– Golden-crested tit
Genus Pardaliparus
- Pardaliparus amabilis– Capuchin Tit
- Pardaliparus elegans– Panther Tit
- Pardaliparus venustulus– Yellow-bellied Tit
GenusParus - Tits, or Real tits
- Parus major- Great tit, or Bolshak
- Parus monticolus– Green-backed Tit
Genus Periparus
- Periparus ater- Moskovka, or black tit
- Periparus rubidiventris– Red-bellied Tit
- Periparus rufonuchalis– Red-necked Tit
Genus Poecile– Gaichki
- Poecile atricapillus- Black-capped chickadee
- Poecile carolinensis– Carolina tit
- Poecile cinctus– Grey-headed chickadee
- Poecile davidi- David's tit
- Poecile gambeli- Gaitka Gambela
- Poecile hudsonicus– Brown-headed Tit
- Poecile hypermelaenus
- Poecile hyrcanus– Hyrcanian tit
- Poecile lugubris– Mediterranean big tit
- Poecile montanus- Brown-headed tit, puff, or marsh tit
- Poecile palustris- Black-headed tit, or marsh tit
- Poecile rufescens– Red-backed chickadee
- Poecile sclateri– Mexican nut
- Poecile superciliosus– white-browed tit
Genus Pseudopodoces
- Pseudopodoces humilis– Tibetan false oyster
Genus Sittiparus
- Sittiparus castaneoventris
- Sittiparus olivaceus
- Sittiparus owstoni
- Sittiparus semilarvatus– white-fronted tit
- Sittiparus varius– Yew tit, or Japanese tit
Genus Sylviparus
- Sylviparus modestus– chiffchaff tit
Types of tits, names and photos
Below is a description of several varieties of tits.
- Great Tit, or big (lat. Parus major)
The body length of the bird is 130-170 mm, weight - 19-21 g, wing length 72-77 mm, tail 65-67 mm, metatarsus about 20-23 mm, wingspan - 220-260 mm. Bolshak is a tit with bright plumage. Her chest is yellow with a black matte wide stripe in the middle, a black shiny cap with a metallic sheen is on her head, a yellowish-white spot is on the back of her head, and her cheeks are snow-white. The wings and tail are bluish with white stripes, the undertail is black. The legs are dark gray, the beak is black, the iris is dark brown. Females are duller in color and have a thinner chest stripe.
The species has a well-defined geographic variability; numerous subspecies are distinguished in its composition. In some varieties of the great tit, the yellow color is completely invisible or absent (Bukharan tit), such birds often look black and white. Young highways look a little different. They have a dark greyish-brown head and throat, with yellowish cheeks, grayish flanks and an overall dull tone in coloration.
The great tit lives in Russia, with the exception of the Kola Peninsula and the polar regions of Siberia, and in Europe, with the exception of Iceland and the Scandinavian countries, it is found in the northwestern regions of Africa and Asia. Titmouse settle on the edges of forests and on trees growing along the banks of rivers.
- Brown-headed tit, powdery, or marsh tit (lat. Poecile montanus)
A bird with a body length of 120-140 mm, a wingspan of 160-220 mm, and a weight of 9-14 g. cheeks and belly greyish-white, pure white in more northern populations. The cheeks are not limited below by a black stripe. On the wing is usually a diffuse light spot.
The puffball lives throughout the forest zone of Eurasia, including Russia, and is less common than other tits found near human settlements. This is a resident bird.
- Moskovka, mokhovka, black tit, or Muscovite tit (lat. Periparus ater)
The body length of the tit is 100-120 mm, weight - 7.2-12 g. The dorsal side is gray, the head is black with a white nape and cheeks, limited from below by a black shirt-front. This pattern resembles a mask, for which the titmouse got its original name - camouflage. The belly of the bird is light gray without a black longitudinal stripe.
The titmouse feeds on insects and seeds of coniferous, sometimes deciduous plants. Eats seeds of spruce, pine, larch, yew, cypress, beech, white maple, eats juniper berries.
Tits live in the forest belt of Eurasia and in northern Africa. They are found in Russia, Japan, Nepal, Myanmar, China and European countries. Usually the Muscovite lives sedentary, but in the years of starvation, the birds massively migrate to new places. Tit singing can be heard starting in February. Her song is high, tender and hurried: "pti-pti-pti" - "drink-drink-drink" - "tuiti-tuiti-tuiti".
- Crested tit, grenadier, or grenadier (lat.Lophophanes cristatus )
Its body length is 110-140 mm, weight is 9-14 g, wingspan is 170-210 mm. There is a large sharp striped crest on the head, the dorsal side is grayish-brown. The back of the head, throat and stripes from the eyes to the back of the head are black. The rest of the head and abdomen are grayish-white with a brownish coating. The legs are brownish, the beak is black, the iris of the eyes is dark brown.
The range of the titmouse with a crest on its head is a large part of Europe, in Russia it is in the Southern Trans-Urals. The habitats of tits are coniferous, less often mixed forests. Rarely found in flocks. The Grenadier is less prone to wandering than other members of the family. Her voice is a loud "chi-chi-trrch".
- common blue tit, she is blue tit, blue tit, or green azure (lat.Cyanistes caeruleus )
A bird with dimensions slightly larger than that of a Muscovite: body length is 110-120 mm, weight - 7.5-14.7 g. The back is green, the wings and tail are blue with black and white feather edging, the head is white with a blue "cap" . The neck of the bird is encircled by a dark blue ring, a black stripe runs from the beak to the back of the head, framing the eyes. The same strip of dark color is located on the yellow-green abdomen. The legs of the blue tit are bluish-gray, the beak is black.
It is distributed in the subtropical, temperate and subarctic zones of Europe, Western Asia and Northwest Africa. It nests in deciduous and mixed forests, preferring and. The song of the blue tit is a short murmuring trill, the cry is a sonorous “chi-chi-cirr”.
- blackhead, or marsh tit (lat. Poecile palustris)
The body length of the tit ranges from 120 to 140 mm, the weight is 10-15 g, the wingspan is 180-200 mm. The swamp tit is very similar to the puffy tit (brown-headed tit), although the black “cap” on its head does not go to the neck and is distinguished by a blue sheen. The cheeks of the bird are grayish, the beak is shorter and thicker than that of the puff, and the wing is monochromatic.
The swamp tit lives in Europe, Altai, Eastern Siberia, China and Asia Minor. Breeds in deciduous, floodplain, rarely mixed forests, gardens and parks.
- blue tit, or prince (lat. Cyanistes cyanus)
Its body length is 120-150 mm, wingspan is 190-220 mm, weight is 10-16 g. The bird looks like an ordinary blue tit. Distinguished by a white rather than blue “cap” and the presence of a white border along the edges of the tail. Its plumage is white-blue, a black stripe on the light feathers of the head runs from the beak to the back of the head, the back is gray-blue, a transverse white stripe runs along the dark blue wings.
The prince lives in Southern Siberia, Central Asia and in Eurasia to the east of Belarus. Inhabits floodplain deciduous and mixed forests with dense undergrowth, reed bogs, forest plantations and orchards. It is a rare and protected bird.
Breeding tits
Birds reach sexual maturity by 9-10 months. Basically, tits are monogamous, although they have known cases of bigamy. They nest in pairs and defend their territory. Breeding begins in April-May.
In the great tit, alliances begin to form long before this time. Already on frosty January days, you can hear how they ring, chirp, and see the quarrels of males. In the spring, during the struggle for the sites, their threatening demonstrative postures, vertical flights, extensions with a “column” and squats become especially noticeable. While stretching, the males of the great tit show each other a black spot under the tail - the main sign of their hierarchical rank and age. They also show a black cap on their heads, by which the rivals can easily distinguish each other's position. Sometimes they fly up, being opposite each other, and flutter their wings.
An important event in tits is the courtship period. The male spins around the female, trembles with half-mast wings, demonstrating the behavior of a chick, crouches, shows her all the intended places for the nest. The female can also demonstrate the behavior of a chick if she liked the male. Partners show how they can manipulate twigs, which indicates their ability to build a nest, the male feeds the female.
In February, old birds already unite in pairs, more often formed from the last breeding season. Even if the male and female wintered in different places, they find each other. Young birds spend more time looking for a partner. Tits retain pairs even in the event of the death of chicks or loss of masonry. During 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-made hollows of trees, less often, with a lack of space - in burrows, depressions in the ground, birdhouses or rock crevices. Often they use pipes, mailboxes and other suitable places for nesting, according to the birds, at least somehow suitable for breeding chicks. N. A. Zarudny found a great tit nest in Kazakhstan in an old skull. The occipital foramen served as an entrance to it, and inside there was a soft lining.
Below all of the hollow nests lives a brown-headed tit, or puff (lat. Poecile montanus). At a meter and a half from the ground, she finds a comfortable hollow for herself and arranges a nest in it. And if he doesn’t find a hollow, he will pluck out a depression in a rotten stump or a dry tree with his tiny beak and settle in it. Big tits (lat. Parus major) prefer medium and even high floors (from 1-6 m to 10 m).
Since tits build nests and start breeding in early spring, the place for chicks should be very warm. The female is more often involved in construction, less often both parents. The tit's nest is made of plant rags, lined with a thick layer of moss, feathers, down, artificial materials and wool. Wool is plucked, for example, from a molting one who lay down for a day, and feathers are picked up where birds of prey ate their prey. Their nest tray is usually cup-shaped, about 5 cm deep and 7 to 10 cm in diameter.
The nest of the great tit, which was placed in a meteorological booth in the city of Kyiv, had a length of 35 cm, a width of 28 cm, a height of 8.5 cm and a weight of 150 g. This building contained a tray 40 mm deep and 75 mm in diameter.
Sometimes tits lay their eggs directly on wood dust inside a hollow without a nest and bedding. Chicks are hatched 1-2, rarely 3 times a year. In a clutch, on average, 2-6, maximum 13, according to some sources 14 white eggs with brown speckles and spots of various sizes, forming a noticeable corolla at the blunt end. Most often, tits have eggs with equally rounded ends.
The firehead remez has dull blue-green eggs. 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 masonry with a layer of moss, which is a kind of blanket. The male feeds the female all this time, and then feeds the chicks with her.
The development of a tit chick lasts about 1 month. Newborn chicks weigh 1-1.3 g, they look completely naked, because the fluffs growing on their shoulders, head and back stick to their body. Their palpebral fissures and auditory canals are closed, but they are already able to emit a barely audible squeak.
Chicks grow most rapidly in the first 10 days. 4 days after birth, the ear canals open in the cubs, and on the 8th day they become fully sighted. At the age of 11 days from the moment of hatching, they become like adult birds. They are covered with feathers, but their feather cover is not yet fully formed.
Parents fly to the nest 400-600 times a day. When the little titmouse grow up and fly out of the nest on the 15-22nd day, the parents' care for the offspring does not end yet. Fledglings stay together for another 2 weeks with mom and dad.
The second time, tits hatch chicks at the end of summer, laying fewer eggs than the first time. Birds can nest in the same place or arrange a new nest.
