Of the eight tit species in the UK, four are common, and with the exception of the long-tailed tit, three of them are similar. They are small, short-legged birds with robust, short beaks. They tend to flit about the branches and vegetation, often darting in and out of sight.
Let’s have a brief look at the three most common tits you may see and their individual mannerisms:
Great tit
This tit, as the name suggests, is the largest of this type of bird, and it’s about the size of a robin. It’s yellow-bellied and white-cheeked, and the black colouring on its head continues as a black line down the middle of its chest.
These birds will happily jostle for space at bird feeders and like to eat sunflower seeds, peanuts and fat.
Blue tit
The blue tit is similar in body colouring to the great tit, but it has a blue cap on its head. It is also a little smaller. However, its smaller size doesn’t equate to a smaller attitude, and this bird is often seen in larger numbers or mixed in with other tits at feeders.
Coal tit
Very slightly smaller than the blue tit, the coal tit has quite a different colouring. Its back, wings and tail are dark grey, its body is buff coloured and its chest and cheeks are white. This acrobatic little bird is also happy to use a bird feeder, but perhaps even more likely to grab and run, returning frequently to top up.
Pop some bird seeds or peanuts into a hanging feeder and see if you can spot all three species of this darting little bird.
