blue tit
Cyanistes caeruleus
- Small and colourful in tones of blue and yellow
- An easy bird to spot
Builds its nest from moss, wool, hair or feathers, often in a hole in a wall, tree, gatepost or of course a nesting box in the garden.
Its song is "tsee-tsee-tsu-hu-hu-hu-hu" - click on the recording below to listen:
Download our blue tit fact sheet.
blue tit fact sheet
Where found
Deciduous and mixed woodland, hedges, gardens and parks.
When to look for
- It is a resident bird so can be seen throughout the year
- Breeds between March and May producing only one brood
Fabulous blue tit facts
- Blue tits feed mostly on insects, especially caterpillars, and seeds. In springtime they feed also on pollen, nectar and sap, and in the autumn on berries.
- Their average life expectancy is 1.5 years; however, the oldest known bird reached almost 10 years.
- They do not usually wander more than a few kilometres away from where they were born.
- Blue tits are very adaptable, and engagingly acrobatic. One of the quickest of birds to exploit a new food source, they rapidly learn to use any new feeder, and can hang upside down on almost anything.
- Gilbert White refers to the blue tit as the 'blue titmouse' in his History of Selbourne 1789. A local name is the Tom Tit.
- In winter blue tits form flocks with other tit species.
- Like all birds, blue tits can see ultra-violet light - the front of their head glows brightly under UV light and this is how females are thought to choose their partners.