Blue Tit (parus caeruleus)

Blue tits are found all over Britain throughout the year. They can often be seen in the garden hanging upside-down in trees like little acrobats where they like to gather small caterpillars to feed their young. They also often visit bird feeders.

Males and females both have blue upper and yellow underparts, a white face and bright blue crown. Both are quite small at 12cm. They like to nest in holes and choose small openings in trees or even pieces of pipe.

Sometimes we make bird boxes with a small hole to let blue tits in but keep sparrows out. Up to 12 eggs are laid but usually just one per day. The female bird only sits on them when she has finished laying them all. She covers them with bits of nest lining to keep them warm until she is ready.

Blue tits call to each other and sing with two or three notes and a fast trilling noise. It sounds like:’’tee-tee-tee-tissississississi”