Great tit
- The great tit does not store food for winter, but readily searches for and eats stored food of other tit species.
- This is one of the few birds capable of using tools to obtain food from hard-to-reach places.
Age
The great tit has a typical lifespan ranging from 11 years and 7 months to 19 years and 3 months, although the maximum recorded lifespan is 15 years and 5 months, with a theoretical lifespan between 10 years and 7 months and 15 years and 1 month. Sexual maturity is reached at an age ranging from 2 months and 1 week to 1 year and 1 month. The "Embryo" stage involves the developing embryo receiving nutrients from the yolk while inside an egg. Following this, the "Nestling" stage sees the young bird in a nest, being fed caterpillars and insects by its parents for a duration of between 2 weeks and 4 days and 3 weeks and 1 day. The "Rapid Growth Post-Fledging Juvenile" stage occurs when the young bird leaves the nest, learning to fly and forage independently for between 1 and 3 months. The “Adult” stage begins when the bird is capable of reproduction, occupying a territory, and raising offspring, lasting from 1 to 10 years.
Phenotype
The great tit has a short, strong beak that aids in catching insects and cracking seeds, and its head is black with a sheen, displaying prominent white cheeks; the adult’s belly is bright yellow with a wide black stripe down the middle, which is broader in males. The species' wings are short and rounded, enabling quick maneuvering between branches. Young great tits have down covering their bodies to help retain heat, and their plumage resembles that of an adult but with less vibrant colors and a more defined black breast band. The chicks’ beaks are bright yellow with a white tip, which allows parents to easily spot them and deliver food. Juvenile birds after a period of rapid growth display plumage similar to adults, although the colors are less intense.
Physiology
The great tit measures from 12 centimeters to 3.6 meters in height, with a body length ranging from 13 to 15 centimeters and a mass between 16 and 18.3 grams; its wingspan is 23 centimeters. During the "embryo" stage, the young have a body mass of 1.2 to 1.8 grams and a body length of 1.6 to 1.9 centimeters. The "nestling" stage is characterized by a body mass from 1 to 16 grams and a body length from 5 to 10 centimeters. As "rapid-growth young," the species weighs 14 to 18 grams and measures 12 to 14 centimeters in length. Adult great tits have a body mass of 16 to 22 grams and a body length of 13.5 to 15 centimeters.
Habitat
The great tit inhabits land and woodland environments, including temperate mixed forests with warm summers and many oak, birch, and maple trees, flooded meadows with abundant grass where water frequently covers the ground, and taiga forests characterized by cold winters and numerous coniferous trees such as spruce and pine. The species’ elevation range extends up to 2.5 kilometers above sea level; it thrives in climates that vary considerably, including extremely dry areas with rare rainfall resembling a desert, regions with scant precipitation during winter but more in summer, areas experiencing very cold winters and very hot summers, consistently wet environments with near-constant rain, and landscapes with abundant rainfall, cool summers, and snow in winter.
Shelter
The great tit shelters in tree cavities, cracks in walls, and birdhouses; the nest is a structure built or used for laying eggs and raising young. Nesting structures are constructed from moss, dry grass, feathers, and wool.
Geography
The great tit is found within the Palearctic biogeographical region and occupies several distinct ecosystems, including Celtic broadleaf forests, broadleaf forests of Western Europe, coniferous forests of the Qilian Mountains, Balkan mixed forests, Baltic mixed forests, and coniferous and mixed forests of the Pyrenees.
Feeding
The great tit’s diet consists of insects and spiders in summer, and seeds and berries in winter; the species is beneficial because it consumes pests of forests and gardens. It forages for food on branches, trunks, and in the air, employing an active hunting strategy to search for and obtain sustenance. The great tit’s food includes caterpillars, spiders, beetles, seeds, berries, coniferous cones, an insect, and a plant. Specific prey items include beetles, flies, Hymenoptera, butterflies, bedbugs, Orthoptera, dragonflies, mayflies, and lacewings. Daily food consumption ranges from 6 grams to 12 grams.
Reproduction
The great tit’s embryo development lasts 2 weeks and 1 day; the female constructs a nest and lays eggs, while the male sings to attract her. The species produces from 7 to 13 broods, and both parents feed the young. A brood has from 5 to 13 chicks; the young reach maturity in from 10 months to 1 year and 1 month. The reproductive interval is from 1 year to 1 year and 1 month.