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.

Try our blue tit quiz!
 

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.