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Eurasian Blue Tit

Eurasian Blue Tit

Cyanistes caeruleus

Identify the Eurasian Blue Tit by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Eurasian Blue Tit is a tiny, lively and acrobatic tit, instantly recognised by its blue crown, wings and tail and bright yellow underparts. It is a widespread, mostly resident bird across Europe and western Asia, although northern birds make large autumn movements. A hole-nester that readily uses nest boxes, it thrives in deciduous woods as well as parks and gardens and is a favourite at feeders.

Did you know?

  • Blue Tits see ultraviolet light, and males have a brighter UV-blue crown than females.
  • The brightness of a Blue Tit's yellow belly reflects how many carotenoid-rich caterpillars it has eaten.

Voice

Song
Call
Alarm call

About the species

Identification

A small tit with a blue crown and wings, greenish back and bright yellow underparts. The face is white with a dark eye-stripe; the male is brighter than the female, and juveniles have yellowish tones. The song is a clear, high trilling. Told from Great Tit by its smaller size, blue crown and lack of a black belly stripe.

Family

Paridae

Size

Tiny (goldcrest)

Colours

yellow, blue, white, green, black

About the habitat

Deciduous and mixed woodland, often with oaks, as well as hedgerows, parks, gardens and towns.

Diet

Mainly insects and spiders, especially caterpillars in spring and summer; in autumn and winter also seeds, nuts and fat at feeders.

Behaviour

Exceptionally agile, often hanging upside down to probe buds and leaves. It joins mixed winter flocks with Great Tits and other small birds. It nests in tree holes and nest boxes, timing breeding so that the chicks hatch at the peak of spring caterpillars; the female incubates while the male brings food. Socially monogamous, although extra-pair matings are common.

Sources

Photo: Sławek Staszczuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parus caeruleus1.jpg

Sound: Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart, XC510545, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/510545

Sound: Camille Vacher, XC696761, CC BY 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/696761

Sound: Benoît Van Hecke, XC538743, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/538743

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_blue_tit

See also