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16

Great Tit

(Parus major)
German name(s): "Kohlmeise"
Size: 12.5-14 cm; wing span 22.5-25.5 cm
Weight: 14-22 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Great Tit at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "major"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Great Tit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Near-frontal view of a male Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, January 2017]

Family clan of Great Tits raiding food provided by an obliging human; male on the right (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, October 2015]

Direct comparison between a male Great Tit, back, with an Eurasian Blue Tit, front (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, December 2015]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Great Tit; note the pale front and the partly fragmented central stripe (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, December 2015]

Near-lateral view of a Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, December 2015]

Near-lateral view of a Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, December 2015]

Lateral view of a Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, December 2015]

Lateral view of a female Great Tit, here taking food from a feeder (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, December 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a female(?) Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, December 2015]

Dorsal view of a female(?) Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, October 2015]

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, October 2015]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of a fledgling Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2015]

Lateral view of a fledgling Great Tit (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2015]

Lateral view of a fledgling Great Tit begging for food (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2015]

Race "newtoni"

ADULT

MALE

Partly obscured near-lateral view of a male(?) Great Tit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Hyde Park, London, England, September 2019]

Close-up near-lateral/ventral view of a male Great Tit hanging off a bird feeder (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Lake District, England, September 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a male Great Tit hanging off a bird feeder (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Lake District, England, September 2023]

Close-up lateral/ventral view of a male Great Tit (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Lake District, England, September 2023]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female(?) Great Tit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Hyde Park, London, England, September 2019]

Race "corsus"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Great Tit looking sideways; note the wide frontal black band
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

Frontal/ventral view of a male Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2015]

Near-frontal view of a male Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2023]

Near-lateral view of a male Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, November 2016]

Near-lateral view of a male Great Tit issuing its call (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a male Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a male(?) Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, March 2017]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a wet female Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta da Vilarica, Assares, Tras os Montes, Portugal, May 2018]

Near-frontal view of a female(?) Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2018]

Lateral view of a female Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2018]

Sex unknown

Dorsal view of a Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Great Tit; note the pale front and the yellow gape (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2015]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2015]

Lateral view of a juvenile Great Tit (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Great Tit with its prey, a grub (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Great Tit with its prey, a larva (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta da Vilarica, Assares, Tras os Montes, Portugal, May 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

greatit_dw_20160602.m4a major
(Poland)
Family Q&A © DW
greatit_dw_20160816.m4a major
(Poland)
Q&A (pair) © DW
greatit_dw_20170402_1.m4a major
(Poland)
Territorial calls(?) © DW
greatit_dw_20170402_3.m4a major
(Poland)
Warning calls?
(+ Eurasian Jay)
© DW
greatit_dw_20170215.m4a major
(Poland)
Various © DW
greatit_dw_20170215_2.m4a major
(Poland)
Various © DW
greatit_dw_20170112.m4a major
(Poland)
? © DW
greatit_dw_20210914.m4a major
(Poland)
? © DW
 
greatit_jp_20200322_2.m4a corsus
(Portugal)
Territorial calls? © JP
greatit_jp_20200322_4.m4a corsus
(Portugal)
Territorial calls? © JP
greatit_jp_20230217.mp3 corsus
(Portugal)
Territorial calls? © JP
greatit_jp_20200323.m4a corsus
(Portugal)
? © JP
greatit_jp_20190606.m4a corsus
(Portugal)
? (+ Hoopoe) © JP

More Great Tit sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.