Which group does the tit belong to? Bird - great tit: description with photos, pictures and videos, where it lives and winters, what a great tit looks like

The tit family includes approximately 65 species. All members of the family are small birds. The largest weighs just over 20 grams, the smallest weighs less than 10 grams. It can be assumed that these birds got their name from their color. Tits mean blue. But blue flowers These birds are not found in the plumage. These birds are so named not for their coloring, but because some emit a rather loud melodic whistle: “si-si”. So they called them tits.

Tits are forest birds and can be found here in any season. During non-breeding times, tits often stay in mixed flocks, willingly visit feeding areas in parks and are therefore well known to nature lovers. Most common chickadee (chickadee), tufted tit, big tit, blue tit And Moscow.

All tits - hollow-nesters, puffy tits and tufted tits hollow out their own hollows, while others occupy natural niches in trees or empty woodpecker hollows. Since tits are small birds, they most readily move into hollows made by small spotted woodpecker. In all cases, they use hollows and niches only as shelter for their own nest, the basis of which usually consists of green tree moss, lichen, animal hair, and sometimes “plant wool”. In addition, the lining almost always contains feathers. Moss and lichens are usually collected by the male, who is more delicate construction material the female collects.

Many tits - for example, plump tits, Muscovites and tufted tits - tend to store food. This can also be observed at feeders, when, having become a little full, they begin to take away the food, hiding it nearby behind the bark, in crevices of trunks and other secluded places. These supplies are not always eaten by the individuals who made them. But for the species as a whole, this is a useful habit - after all, food cannot be abundant every day. In the warm season, the basis of the diet of tits consists of insects, and in winter, in addition to wintering insects and their clutches, there are also plant foods, especially spruce and pine seeds that have fallen from cones. And tits can choose anything edible from the feeders.

The largest tit living among us is big tit. Compared to its sisters it is really big, compared to other birds - not so big (weighs 20 grams). It can be seen more often than others in winter in cities and villages. The bird does not fly to people because of a good life: it is difficult, hungry in the forest at this time. Some tits migrate to the south (they don’t fly away, tits are sedentary birds, but migrate), some remain in the forest, and some fly to human habitation: it’s easier to live here and get food. At this time, tits become omnivorous birds in the full sense: they eat grains and cereals, bread crumbs and pieces of meat, lard and cottage cheese. And yet, a lot of birds die at this time. Those who survive until spring fly into the forests or stay near people in gardens, parks, and groves. In early spring The titmouse is already beginning to look for a place for a nest and arrange it.

The great tit is the first, at the end of winter, to inform people about the coming spring with a musical chime: “Tsi-tsi-fi, tsi-tsi-fi...”. The songs of males sound in different keys and therefore seem especially enchanting, like the ringing of a spring drop. Sometimes great tits supplement their song with the sounds of other tits, less often - with the calls of warblers, buntings, nuthatch - those birds that live in the neighborhood.

The places where the great tit manages to build nests are unpredictable: in addition to all sorts of niches and hollows, these are various pipes, including exhaust pipes from abandoned cars, mailboxes, hanging on fences in villages, niches behind loose wall cladding, etc. About a third of the great tit population manages to raise two broods over the summer, so that by autumn their numbers always increase.

Tits have many children: 10-14 testicles are not uncommon for them. The female incubates and the male feeds her. And both feed the chicks. At first they feed only the juice of crushed insects, then small six-legged animals and spiders, and at the end of feeding they are given what they will have to eat in the future.

Grown-up chicks of tits do not fly far, but by autumn they unite together with their parents and other families into small flocks of several dozen birds. They will roam the forest in such flocks; by the way, flocks may include tits and other species, nuthatches, and pikas. Few will survive until spring. And it’s a shame, great tits are useful birds. In summer, spring, autumn they destroy many insects, feeding the chicks, they fly up to the nest 400 times a day (and feed for two weeks and have two clutches per summer). Grown-up chicks (there can be twenty or even thirty of them in two broods) also do not suffer from lack of appetite. It is estimated that a pair of tits (with broods) can protect a garden of 40 fruit trees from pests. That is why it is very important not only not to destroy the birds themselves, not only to hang artificial nesting places - wooden titmouses and nest boxes - to help the birds hatch their chicks, but it is also necessary to feed them in winter. In the summer they will thank man a hundredfold. This also applies to other tits, for example the blue tit - one of the most beautiful tits.

Blue tit similar in size to a great tit. This titmouse has blue wings and tail, green back, yellow chest and belly, and all these colors are pure and gentle. The blue tit prefers edges, light oak groves, and willingly settles in uranium forests along the banks of rivers and lakes, in gardens and parks. Blue tits roam through these biotopes in the autumn winter time. Then they also visit reed fields, where they feed on the preserved panicles. The female sits on the eggs, and the male carefully looks after her - he feeds her almost every hour. He also feeds her when the chicks hatch. During the first days the female does not leave them, she constantly warms them. Then, for 20 days, both parents fly to the nest 300 times daily and bring food to their chicks.

Blue tits' food is insects. The tit also feeds on insects Moscow, or little tit, is in fact the smallest titmouse living in Europe (its weight is no more than 10 grams). Muscovite prefers to settle in coniferous forests, not only in Europe, but also in Siberia and Asia.

The life of Muscovites is in many ways similar to the life of blue tits. The female is fed by the male during incubation. During the first days, the female warms her chicks and does not fly out of the nest. Feeding, like blue tits, lasts 20 days, and parents fly in to feed their babies the same number of times a day.

All tits described above have a beautiful hallmark- white “cheeks”: white spots on the sides of the head, clearly visible from afar. And tufted tit Another distinctive feature is a large crest, for which the bird was also named grenadier. The tufted tit's lifestyle is similar to that of other tits. She is also a sedentary bird, she also feeds on insects and is also very useful. The tufted tit is one of the common birds, although it is not found everywhere. It is typical only for pine forests or forest stands with their predominance. She is the earliest of the tits to begin breeding. It builds a nest, as a rule, in the second half of March, and in mid-May its chicks can already be found in the forest. This bird does not have second clutches. And all summer long, adult tits with their chicks wander around their native pine forests. In winter, when pine forests There are few birds left; tufted tits are their main decoration. Brown-headed Chickadee is also a hollow nester, but, unlike its sisters, it can independently hollow out a hollow for itself. The bird is small (weighs 10-12 grams), the beak, of course, is weak, and although the chickadee only digs into soft, rotting wood, it cannot make a large hollow. But she doesn’t need a big hollow.

But if we talk about the construction of tit nests, then we need to mention the famous builder. Somewhere on the bank of a river or pond, on a bent branch of a willow or poplar, hangs a fairly large bag (10 centimeters wide and 16 centimeters long), from a distance resembling a mitten with one finger. This is a nest tits remezov. It is carefully woven from plant fibers, decorated and insulated with down and fluff. different trees and bushes. The nest is so strong that it is not afraid of anyone heavy rains, no wind. In this nest (the birds build it for at least two weeks), the remez hatch and feed the chicks (for a total of three weeks), and then leave this magnificent structure without regret.

When using site materials, it is necessary to place active links to this site, visible to users and search robots.

Tits - large group small birds from the order Passeriformes, including representatives of the families Titmouse, Long-tailed and Thick-billed tits. Despite the similarity in names, only representatives of the first family are considered to be true tits, while other species are distantly related to them. In total, there are about 100 species of these birds in the world.

Tufted tit or grenadier (Lophophanes cristatus).

Tits have a dense build. Their body length is 10-16 cm, weight ranges from 8 to 20 g. The beak is straight, somewhat shortened; in thick-billed tits it is thickened and takes on a conical shape. The wings are short and rounded, the paws, although thin, are very tenacious. The tail is usually larger middle length, in long-tailed tits its size can be equal to length torso. The plumage is smooth, close-fitting; some species may have a small crest on the head. The color of these birds usually contains gray, white and brown tones; in the brightest species, yellow and blue colors. True tits are characterized by the presence of a black cap and (or) a frenulum passing through the eye. In long-tailed and thick-billed tits, the color of the head most often matches the color of the abdomen. Sexual dimorphism is either not expressed or is reduced to minor differences in the pattern. In the latter case, males are brighter colored than females, and the color saturation directly depends on the level of sex hormones.

Taiwan tit (Parus holsti) - the most bright look these birds.

Tits live exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere, the largest species diversity they reach across vast areas of Eurasia, several species are found in North America and Africa. In the north, their range reaches the forest-tundra zone, in the south - to tugai forests in Central Asian deserts, the jungles of India, and the forests of the Himalayas. In the mountains they are found up to an altitude of 2000-3000 m. All tits, without exception, gravitate towards thickets of woody vegetation, but each species has its own preferences. For example, great tits and blue tits inhabit mixed and deciduous forests, moose tits inhabit exclusively coniferous forests, whiskered tits and various species of sutora inhabit reed and tree thickets along river banks. These birds lead sedentary image life, but many species of the temperate zone migrate in winter. The Muscovy tit's migrations are so large that they resemble real flights.

Whiskered tits (Panurus biarmicus): the male sits lower, the female sits higher.

Being very active, tits spend most of their lives actively searching. They fly alone in the summer, and in winter - in flocks of 10-50 individuals; when searching for food, they often show curiosity, courage, and intelligence. In order to better protection from enemies and to increase search efficiency, they often team up with other species of birds: nuthatches, pikas, kinglets, small woodpeckers. However, their friendliness is limited to selfish goals. When it comes to fighting for food or a convenient nesting site, large species tits show aggression and can even kill small birds with a blow from their strong beak.

Great tits (Parus major) feed on a sunflower inflorescence.

Tits communicate with each other using various variations of squeaks; some species make chirping sounds. By the way, the sonorous “blue-blue-blue” sound produced by blue tits in the spring, combined with their bluish coloration, is the reason why these birds are called tits.

Tits are undoubtedly the brightest representatives of the forest fauna. These cute white-cheeked birds are small in size and brightly colored. The color of the plumage depends on the type of tit. There are several main varieties of this bird, which we want to introduce you to. In the article you will find photos and names of tit species with their detailed description.

About tits

The dexterous, mischievous and incredibly active bird belongs to the Tit family and the order Passeriformes. Tits are birds of prey and feed on various insects and larvae, which they obtain by searching all the cracks in the bark of trees.

Depending on the species, the weight of the birds varies from 14 to 30 grams, and the length of the body does not exceed 15 centimeters. To date, at least 65 species of this bird are known. In our article we will describe the most popular and widespread varieties living in our country.

In the following sections, we propose to consider in detail the description, name and photo of tit species. Let's start by getting acquainted with the most common variety of this small bird.

The species of this tit is considered the most common in our country. It can be found especially often in Siberia - from Altai to Baikal, as well as from Arkhangelsk to the Crimea, including the entire Caucasus. The species of tit received its name thanks to the rather large size(compared to other tits). It is also called a grasshopper or a big one.

The yellow breast of this barnacle bird is divided into two equal parts by a black stripe, which is wider in males. Shiny black color has top part head, neck, and goiter. The part of the back up to the bluish rump has a soft green color, and the tail and wings themselves are dark brown with a slightly bluish tint. The great tit is completely omnivorous: it is not averse to eating a piece of lard or meat, seeds, and even stale bread. In addition, this species of tit is considered the most agile, cunning and predatory.

Blue tit

Blue tits come in blue and white. The blue tit species is characterized by a bright blue crown and nape. There are narrow off-white stripes over the beak and eyes, and blue stripes behind the eyes and on the top of the neck. The feathers on the shoulder part of the wings are gray-green, the throat and side of the cheeks are black-blue, the rump is a rich azure color, the belly is bright yellow, and the wings and tail are bluish-green.

The white tit (second name is prince) is the closest relative of the common blue tit and is considered one of the cutest tit species. This bird was first described by the famous traveler and naturalist I. I. Lepekhin. The white blue tit is quite rare in the Minsk region, but much more often it can be seen in the Volga region and in the Urals. In Siberia, this bird has a slightly different appearance, but the main color differs slightly.

Moskovka

This species of tit is also called black or little tit. Its size is approximately one and a half to two times smaller than that of the great tit, and its color scheme almost completely coincides with it. The Muscovy has shiny black the following parts of the body: throat, neck, forehead, top and back of the head, and stripes on the sides of the back of the neck. Snow white color have cheeks and the side of the neck. The wings and tail are dark gray, and the breast and abdomen are slightly reddish. Among all types of tits, this one is the most tame and trusting.

The habitat of the Muscovy is a fairly vast territory: from Lapland to Ukraine, and in Russia - almost throughout the taiga, Ryazan and Ulyanovsk. Crimean, Caucasian and Tien Shan Muscovites are distinguished by the presence of brown or olive plumage on the abdomen, as well as stronger beaks.

Grenadier

The tufted tit (the species also has this name) has a very noticeable difference from other tits, consisting in a long crest, which has a wide base and a sharp tip. The color of the grenadier's plumage is rather dull and has predominantly brown and red shades.

The wings and tail are dark brown, the back is slightly lighter. The sides and belly are gray-brown, and the breast is off-white. The crest on the head is made up of black feathers with white tips. Parallel black stripes run from the beak through the eye and from the crop to the back of the head, and the sides of the head have White color.

The tufted tit is most common in the northern half of the European part of our country. Most often it can be found in coniferous forests from Arkhangelsk to Bashkiria. Especially rare species The tit grenadier is considered to be for the territory of the Caucasus. For home care This type is not suitable because her singing qualities are not that good.

Gaichka

Brown-headed tit, puffy tit, marsh tit - all these are names of a numerous and medium-sized species of tits. It is distinguished by a rather unremarkable color, devoid of variegated tones. The head, occipital part and a small spot under the beak are rich black. The entire upper part of the body is painted in light gray tones, and the chest, abdomen and cheeks are almost white. The tail and wings are darker - from gray to brown.

You can meet the chickadee almost everywhere: from Pskov to Kharkov and Voronezh, as well as from the Volga region to Pacific Ocean. Caucasian, Altai and Siberian marsh tits are being replaced by geographical subspecies, most similar to the common tit. Chickadees nest in hollows that they hollow out themselves, but sometimes they are capable of occupying a ready-made home.

Polovnik

Among different types tits, we can separately note the long-tailed beautiful tit. It differs from all other varieties long tail and small body size. The silhouette of this titmouse resembles a spoon. The very beautiful plumage of the polovnik consists of loose and light feathers. The head, neck and chest of this bird are white or slightly grayish. The sides and upper part of the tail have a pink-wine tint, and the rump, shoulders, wings and the tail itself are searing black. In addition, the outer edges of the fans are white, which widens from the middle.

In general, the long-tailed tit is considered a rare bird. However, in our country they are especially common. The titmouse is one of the most common tit species Tula region, Caucasus, Crimea and Ussuri region. They especially love damp deciduous forests.

Interestingly, the titmouse is one of the few tits that can be tamed and for a long time capable of living in captivity. Trusting bird capable of eating from the hand within 3-4 days after being caught. The main condition for its maintenance is the availability of a variety of food. In addition, the long-tailed tit sings loudly and melodiously, and therefore is especially valued among both beginners and experienced birders. It is best to keep it together with a canary, which will teach the titmouse to sing more beautifully.

The passerine bird is quite common and almost everyone knows about it. But today, we will tell you in more detail about life tits, starting with its characteristics.

Description of the great tit

In fact, tit size no larger than a sparrow, with a body length of 13-17 cm, a wingspan of 22-26 cm and a body weight of only 14-20 grams. As we know, big tit has quite bright plumage: a bright yellow belly with a tie, where a dark stripe runs from the tail to the chest. The bird's head is painted blue-black, which appears metallic in the light. There is a white-yellow spot on the back of the head, white cheeks, and a black stripe around the neck. The neck and chest have a bluish tint, the back is usually gray-blue or yellow-green with olive shoulders, a bluish tail and wings. You can also notice a transverse white line on the wings.

What is most interesting is that initially males and females are completely indistinguishable, and only later their color becomes noticeably duller. Besides big tit, there are about 30 species of tits, differing in color, plumage and behavior.

HABITAT AND LIFESTYLE OF THE GREAT TIT

Great tit habitat

Great tit lives throughout Europe, in areas North Africa, in the Middle East, North and Central Asia. The bird prefers to settle in various forests in more open places, such as edges, banks of reservoirs. Most often, mixed and deciduous forests are suitable. Because tit Not migrant, she is in the same place both in winter and in summer, perhaps changing nests, but if it comes harsh winter, the great tit is forced to migrate. And to this day, big tit It is considered one of the most common bird species in Russia.

Great Tit Lifestyle

Did you know that big tit has rich voice repertoire? Scientists were able to record that while singing, the bird makes more than 40 sounds! Despite the fact that it is simultaneously capable of alternating from three to five different rhythms. Most often, birds sing when excited or communicating with a couple.

By the way, tits They can be both monogamous and polygamous; many individuals remain in pairs for several years, but certainly not for life. Reproduction begins between January and September, where the main factor for the pair is the availability of a nest in which to lay eggs and food. For food Various seeds, bread, small insects, and caterpillars are suitable. For nest tit most often they choose a hollow tree, but they also settle well in trees, especially on high branches. While the female incubates the eggs, the male becomes the real breadwinner in the literal sense of the word - he feeds himself and brings food to the female. One clutch can contain from 5 to 12 eggs, resembling quail eggs in appearance, only not with dark spots, but with reddish ones. The female sits tightly on the eggs for about 12-14 days, when the cubs begin to hatch, mom and dad take turns feeding them, bringing 6-7 grams each. food daily for each chick. The chicks stay in the nest for 16-20 days, after which they learn to fly and leave the parental nest. Lifespan of a Great Tit averages 15 years.

VIDEO: ABOUT TITS

IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL LEARN A LOT OF INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL ABOUT TITS

No birds are more connected to the forest than tits. In appearance, these are small but strong pichugas with a bright contrasting color, white-cheeked. The most common representative of the family is the great tit, with which I will begin the description of tits.

Great tit

The largest of the tits is the white-cheeked, yellow-breasted bird with a black track dividing the breast into equal parts. Already with the first autumn frosts, these lively, noisy birds fly from the surrounding forests to cities and villages. They twirl along the fences, scurry through the woodpile, scream in the poplars. Tits are ubiquitous and curious, like children. Nothing escapes their tenacious gaze. The voice of tits is a ringing “ping-ping-ping”. The closer winter gets and the colder the weather gets, the more tits come to the city, town, and village. Coal tits, blue tits, chickadees, and long-tailed tits also come here to inspect parks, fences, and dilapidated buildings. The great tit is omnivorous. She searches for and eats insects, crushes seeds, flies through garbage dumps, getting pieces of food there. Tits love to peck at frozen meat and lard; in times of hunger, they do not disdain a moldy crust somewhere near a dog’s kennel. More than once I have watched tits attack weakened birds. There is no bird that fights so hard for its freedom. This love of freedom, combined with terrible restlessness, continuous climbing along the walls of the cage, great anger and savagery, makes the tit not a very attractive cage bird. Such tits are never considered tame. The most that can be achieved from them is that they take food from their hands through the bars of the cage. By the way, the great tit is classified as the second category of best singer. Its magnificent whistles, shadows and bells amaze even experienced connoisseurs. “Tsit-tsik-pi, tsit-tsik-pi” can be heard already in the January thaw. “The tit has sensed spring,” people say. In March, her voice enlivens all gardens and courtyards. Titmouses even accompany their playful song with a kind of dance. All tits are very useful. Every person needs to take them under their care, especially in the hungry winter time. Make a feeder at your window, in the garden, at the edge of the forest, sprinkle leftover food, seeds, bread crumbs there - tits will give you a lot of pleasure with their cheerful appearance and ringing voice.

Moskovka

The Muscovite is an unusually sweet creature, a real toy bird, and its voice is just as pleasant, similar to the cry of a siskin, the call of “ty-pee, ty-pity.” The song of this bird is poorer than that of the great tit; it does not contain the puzzling, stunning things that the great tit does, but there are no unpleasant tones either. In terms of the quality of the song, the Muscovite belongs to the third category. By the contrasting arrangement of spots, by the white cheeks it is similar to a great tit, but half its size, the breast is not yellow, but light gray without a track. She is a resident of dark coniferous forests and tall spruce forests, which, alas, are fewer and fewer every year. A Muscovite never lives in a city or a village. It should be noted that of all the tits she is the most affectionate, tame and trusting. This is the only titmouse that recognizes its owner and returns even after a year’s separation.

Blue tit

Only slightly larger than the Muscovite. This is the most troublesome and active titmouse. She is dressed in a bright wonderful colored feather. The bird's yellow chest goes well with the blue and white skullcap on the crown of the head and bluish wings. The cheeks are white, but separated by a blue stripe running through the eye. How related is the Greater Muscovy Tit to coniferous forest, the blue tit loves deciduous trees so much. Aspen groves along the swamps, urema along the rivers - these are her places. This is a very useful bird that feeds mainly on insects. The blue tit eats seeds in small quantities and only out of hunger.

Polovnik (long-tailed tit)

This titmouse has neither blue nor blue tones in its plumage. Her head is white, without stripes, round, with black beaded eyes. The tail is very long, with white stepped feathers on the sides. This titmouse, in silhouette, resembles a spoon. You can meet Apollonovka in any forest, but more often in damp, deciduous forests. These titmice wander through alder and aspen forests, they love crooked pine forests and even solid white birch forests. They rarely merge in winter into a common flock of tits. The polovniks form their own squad, not staying anywhere for long, they are as fast as the wind. The affection of long-tailed tits for each other is amazing and touching. One autumn, returning from a walk at night, I accidentally saw a dozen long-tailed titmice sleeping on a branch, closely in a row, covering each other with their wings and pointing their tails in different directions. Unlike most tits, which nest in hollows, titmouses build round nests, skillfully made from blades of grass and hairs. Only once was I lucky enough to find such a nest, empty, thrown from a tree. Birds' days are calculated according to the sun, like clockwork. For example, if you saw birds near the edge of the forest at noon, then the next day and the third they will appear here. They show up for dates like neat girls, not allowing themselves to be more than half an hour late. One long-tailed tit lived with me from autumn until May. I released her as unnecessary and partly because she was terribly tired of her incessant “turkling” and inviting waxwing. In terms of the quality of singing, Apollonovka belongs to the very last, fifth category. My titmouse sang a lot both in the morning and in the evening, making quiet whistling sounds and turning her round owl-like head all the time.

Chickadee (brown-headed chickadee)

The chickadee is the most numerous species of tit. She has a large black cap and a light colored bottom without a bib. The chickadee is a little larger than the Muscovy, more big-headed. It is found in any forest, you will find it in swampy small forests, and in a dry light forest, and in a dark spruce forest, and in a birch forest. A loud, alarming “ke, kee, tee... tee,” accompanied by the usual tit squeak, can be heard throughout the forest from morning until dark. Chickadees rarely travel in independent flocks; they are usually joined by tits, tufted tits, nuthatches, wrens, pikas, woodpeckers and several great tits. This company of tits does an excellent job of cleaning the forest from pests. Chickadees are widespread due to their high adaptability to different forest. They nest in any hollows, on dead wood in stumps. They occupy ready-made hollows or hollow them out themselves. A nesting site is completed in one day of hard work, or at most in two. Nesting twice a summer, chickadees hatch a dozen and a half chicks. Male chickadees, like all tits, have cleaner and brighter feathers, without a vague beard under the beak - it looks like a clear spot. The male is always more squeaky and loud. Based on its singing, the chickadee is classified as a third class bird. The brown-headed chickadee is also called the puffy chickadee.

Tufted tit (grenadier)

Not large, a little larger than Moscow. But less than a nut, a lively titmouse. Its plumage is composed of various shades of gray with a slight brownishness on the back. The most important distinguishing feature is the sharp-angled, ash-colored crest, which the bird sometimes raises and then lowers. Grenadier, not a rare bird, but still not found anywhere in large numbers. It is found only in coniferous forests. It nests in narrow hollows not high above the ground. It does not form flocks, but always joins tit companies of different species. The call resembles the waxing of blue tits. A titmouse in captivity sings poorly and little, and the continuous movements back and forth soon get boring for everyone. I kept several grenadiers, whom I always released because of the incessant cry like “tsit-re-re-re.”

Buy plastic windows Choose windows from Rehau. Order windows from reliable partners alias.zp.ua