About

Blue tits are birds from the tit family. They are diurnal, which means they mostly come out in the day.

Like most birds, a male tit is called a cock, a female tit is called a hen, and a baby tit is called a chick. A group of blue tits is called a banditry.

Habitat

Their resting places are called nests, and they will accept anywhere that seems safe and warm - they will return to the same nest each year and, when one pair dies, another will often take possession. In the UK, blue tits live in towns, cities, parks, woodland and farmland.

What does it need?

They eat a variety of foods, such as buds, grains, seeds, nuts, fruit, insects, worms and scraps. Caterpillars are the main food source for blue tit chicks.

What needs it?

In the UK, their main predator is cats, although owls, sparrowhawks and weasels also prey on them.

The blue tit diet, particularly caterpillars, means they are an effective pest control agent and reduce food-growing loss. They also help to pollinate plants as they fly around. As blue tits have such a wide appetite and live so closely to humans, they are a good indicator of the local wildlife environment and how we are affecting their ecosystem for example through land redevelopment and increased use of pesticides. Blue tits are declining but slowly; it is thought that their readiness to live in nestboxes and eat from bird feeders has helped their numbers against woodland birds.

Fun fact!

Blue tits are great acrobats. They use their strong legs and claws to hang upside down to investigate clusters of buss or pick off caterpillars from leaves.

See a video here, and learn more here!