Tits are agile and dexterous birds. They climb the branches of trees, rummaging through all the cracks in search of their favorite food - insects and their larvae. The most famous representative of this genus of birds is the so-called great tit.
What kind of bird is a tit?
Tits are a genus of birds belonging to the order of passerines and the family of titmice. The most famous species of them is the great tit, which lives throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and North Asia, as well as in parts of North Africa. In the wild, tits can be found in deciduous and mixed forests, in meadows, on the edges, near the shores of water bodies.
As a rule, tits are non-migratory birds. Therefore, most of them do not migrate anywhere from cold regions at all, hibernating side by side with humans. If we talk about the zoological classification of these birds, then until 2005 the species of tits included many different subspecies. However, DNA studies have shown that some of these subspecies differ markedly from the great tits. That is why they were separated into separate types. As for the great tit, this bird species remains the largest and most numerous in the whole world, in particular on the territory of Russia.
What does a titmouse look like?
Since the great tit is the most common representative of this genus of birds, further acquaintance with these birds should be continued with her example. The great tit is distinguished by its black head and neck, white cheeks that are conspicuous. The top of these birds has an olive tint, and the bottom is yellow. In principle, the color of the plumage of these creatures varies somewhat depending on their many subspecies.
What does the titmouse eat?
In summer, these birds feed on insects. In winter, their menu has a wider range: for example, the great tit is happy to feast on the bats that have fallen into hibernation, gradually pecking at them. In addition, in winter, titmice switch to plant food, eating mountain ash and other berries, as well as feasting on seeds from feeders.
Tit lifestyle
When spring claims its rights, the chirping of tits is heard in the forests, parks, orchards and vegetable gardens. These sounds are made by males. The fact is that spring is the time for acquaintances and arrangement of their homes. Only females are engaged in the construction of nests. It is curious that great tits do not bother themselves at all with a long choice of nesting sites. Like starlings, these birds can arrange their dwellings in iron pipes, in cracks in rocks, and in the walls of abandoned houses. Tits like to occupy abandoned birdhouses.
They line their nests with layers of moss and wool. After a while, up to 10 chicks are born. Young tits leave their parental home 20 days after their birth. For some time, their parents take care of them, and then send them on an independent journey. As mentioned above, the vast majority of tits are non-migratory birds. However, in search of food in winter, they gather in flocks and fly from place to place. Great tits linger where there is most food.
The titmouse is a useful bird
These feathered creatures provide irreplaceable benefits to parks, forests and gardens. During the day, they eat an amount of insects equal to their own weight. That is why people need to feed these birds in winter. Tits are friendly birds, they willingly visit feeders, feeding on sunflower seeds, unsalted lard, milk cream.
