The tit is a wild bird or not. A useful bird, or why the titmouse was called the titmouse
Hello dear readers of the site about animals. Alexandra is in touch with you. You know, by chance I just remembered how recently I was delighted with the gathering of beautiful birds to our tree feeder in the garden near the house. We always hang out a large number of them on each tree in winter.
And this time, beautiful birds flew to the feeders, which we had not seen before in the summer. These were birds - tits. So beautiful, you can't take your eyes off them. In this article I will tell you what types of tits are and see their photos.
Types of tits photos and names
Yellow-chested titmouses are hard to miss, as they fly away to the forest in summer and live there until the onset of cold weather.
But as soon as the first frost hits, timid snowflakes will appear in the air - titmouse will reach for human habitation. Near a person you can always find a crumb for food. Yes, and a person remembers birds: he prepares feeders, hangs a piece of unsalted bacon. Everything for them, for titmouse and their brethren.
Small birds gather in groups during the arrival of cold weather, because it is more fun to spend the winter, there are also more chances to survive.
At first glance, it seems that all the birds are the same, except that they can be distinguished by their height. Actually it is not. Here is the usual titmouse nicknamed - big. She is big. Her plumage is bright: the abdomen is yellow with a black stripe in the middle. Black titmouse and a hat. She creates a sharp contrast with white cheeks. On the back of the bird is a color of different shades of green.
Great tits are very lively birds in terms of movement. They scurry along the trunk of a tree, looking for hidden insects under the bark. At the same time, the birds are talking loudly among themselves. In summer, the nearest forest serves as their home.
Smaller birds jump next to the great titmouse. They differ from large and plumage color. This blue tit. Their caps are blue and there is no black stripe on the chest and abdomen. Due to their low weight, blue tit can perch on the very tip of a thin twig. It cannot be said that their character is modest. Titmouse do not give offense, make noise at the feeders, drive away other birds.
A relative of the blue tit has to princeling. The prince is really unusual. He is "dressed" in a striped white and blue tailcoat. This bird is rare, and information about it is recorded in the Red Book.
In the dark coniferous forests there lives a bird similar to the highway - a bird nicknamed Muscovite. Apparently, due to the gloom of the habitat, her plumage is dull. It seems that the bird was sprinkled with grains of coal. It can be recognized by the white patch on the neck.
Muscovites are neighbors powder And brown-headed tit. These are also titmouse. Their backs are gray-brown, their abdomens are light, there is a black spot on the head, the same under the beak. The sisters differ in their voices and preferences: the puff can be found among the trees, the black-headed tit in the deciduous forests near the floodplain of the reservoir.
Very rare, but you can still see a pretty bird with a tuft. For the presence of a crest, a bird is called grenadier. Sometime in the 18th century, the headdresses of the grenadiers were with similar tufts. The grenadier also has a common name - crested tit.
All these birds are united by the fact that they settle in hollows. Hollows abandoned by woodpeckers or voids formed by nature in a tree inhabit. Their food is insects and seeds. Those who live in the spruce forest naturally feed on seeds from fir cones. If the harvest of cones is poor, chickadees become nomads.
Other titmouse thriftily arrange pantries of insects and seeds. Birds often forget about their pantries, but stocks are not wasted. They are enjoyed by those who are the first to discover such a pantry.
We can say that tits have cousins \u200b\u200bthat form a separate family. This long-tailed tits. They are also called ladles because they look like small ladles with a long handle. These "lads" are good builders.
Moss serves as a building material for them. From it, strong and solid round houses are obtained, which can only be entered through a side door. As a rule, these houses are well disguised.
In winter, long-tailed titmouse form a group independent from the rest. They may accompany woodpeckers if weakened. Then the titmouse have the opportunity to search under the bark of insects torn off by the woodpecker.
In winter, birds place great hope on humans. If he supports the birds in the winter, they will repay him with a good summer. Dear readers, I wanted to ask you, do you feed birds in winter and make feeders? Report it in the comments to this article. And then we will somehow tell and show in the following articles how to make bird feeders. Will you be interested?
The great tit has perfectly adapted to the landscape created by man. This nimble bird is often seen near buildings, in gardens and city parks, and is hailed by people everywhere as a true ally in the fight against insect pests.
Habitat. It lives in Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Habitat.
The great tit lives in Europe, Asia and northern Africa. The southern border of its range runs through North Africa, Israel, Iran and Ceylon, and in the north it reaches the polar tundra. This bird can be found in the expanses of Eurasia from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Some tits live settled, and birds nesting in the north migrate for the winter to areas with a milder climate.
Species: Great Tit - Parus major.
Family: Titmouse.
Order: Sparrows.
Class: Birds.
Subtype: Vertebrates.
Did you know?
The Great Tit is the largest of all European tits.
During the day, the body temperature of the tit is 42 ° C, and at night it drops to 39 ° C. The heart of this pichuga beats at a frequency of 500 beats per minute, and with strong excitement, the contraction rate increases to 1000 beats per minute.
A tit eats more food per day than it weighs itself. A pair of tits that feed nine chicks delivers approximately 1,800 insects and larvae to their offspring every day. For the entire time they stay in the nest, the chicks eat about 15,000 insects and caterpillars.
On a plot of 10 hectares, great tits can destroy 150,000 insects and caterpillars.
Great tits are surprisingly brave, agile and quick-witted. In some places they have become so accustomed to the presence of people that they take food directly from the hands.
The sharp beak serves as a multi-purpose tool for the titmouse. The bird hollows them out hollows, splits hard shells of nuts and seeds and picks out larvae from under the bark. As it wears, the beak grows continuously.
Security.
In many countries, the great tit, like its other relatives, is taken under protection, although its population is very numerous and the bird is not threatened with extinction. Having long appreciated the enormous merits of these birds in the fight against dangerous pests of crops and forests, people feed them in the winter, and in the spring they hang out nesting boxes that quickly find owners. Tits living in cities often break on transparent shop windows or glazed walls of high-rise buildings, so it is recommended to stick images of birds of prey on such surfaces that scare away all feathered trifles from dangerous obstacles.
Lifestyle.
During the breeding season, the male great tit occupies the home area and defends its borders from other relatives, but in autumn and winter these sociable birds gather in flocks, often uniting with other species of tits. Life in a flock helps to notice danger in time and look for food. The composition of such a flock is constantly changing: some birds fly away, others cling to the group. Tits are very vociferous and communicate with each other with a rich set of whistles and trills. At the end of winter, the flocks of titmouse begin to disintegrate. Males claim their rights to certain areas, and after a while, females also start wandering, seeking to find a partner. The diet of tits is very diverse: in spring and summer they feed on all kinds of insects and their larvae, and in winter - larvae and spiders hidden under the bark. With no less appetite, they eat plant seeds, beech and hazelnuts, seeds of ash, maple, euonymus, yew and hawthorn. In autumn, tits often feast on the pulp and seeds of overripe fruits, and in snowy winter they flock to the feeders in noisy flocks. In search of prey, these restless birds run briskly along the branches, often even upside down. Small raptors, weasels, ferrets and martens are among their natural enemies, while squirrels and crows often destroy their nests.
Reproduction.
In spring, the male tit occupies the home area first of all and immediately notifies rivals and neighbors about this with ringing trills, which at the same time attract females. Noticing a possible partner, the male, for greater importance, puffs up his shirt-front and begins to flutter nervously around the chosen one. If the female likes the gentleman, she crouches on a branch, opening her wings and beak, and demands treats, and the male tries to feed her (perhaps in this way the female checks whether the future spouse will be able to feed the chicks). Then the male shows his girlfriend the place he has chosen for the nest, which can be a tree hollow or a titmouse, and if the female likes it, the couple proceeds to build a nest from thin twigs lined with dry blades of grass, moss, feathers and tufts of wool. In April, the female lays 6-12 eggs, white with reddish speckles, and incubates the clutch for 10-14 days, feeding on the male's offerings. The chicks hatch blind and naked. After 2-3 weeks, they fly out of the nest, but their parents feed them for about a week. As a rule, tits make one brood per year. Sometimes the couple has time to make one more brood, and then the older chicks are fed by one male. In winter, juveniles join the blue flocks. Great tits reach puberty at 10 months of age and breed their offspring the following spring.
Great Tit - Parus major.
Length: 14 cm.
Wingspan: 22-25 cm.
Weight: 15-20 g.
Number of eggs in clutch: 6-12.
Incubation period: 10-14 days.
Sexual maturity: 10 months.
Food: insects, fruits, seeds.
Lifespan: up to 15 years.
Structure.
Beak. The beak is short, cone-shaped.
Head. The upper side of the head is covered with a cap of black shiny feathers.
Body. The body is quite dense.
Cheeks. Cheeks are white.
Mirror. There are white stripes on the wings, the so-called. mirrors.
Plumage. The dorsal side is yellowish-green, the abdomen is bright yellow. Wings, tail and coccyx are bluish-gray.
Tie. A wide, tie-like black stripe stretches along the chest and abdomen.
Fingers. Four short fingers are equipped with sharp and tenacious claws.
Legs. Thin paws are devoid of plumage.
related species.
The titmouse family unites about 65 species of birds inhabiting Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. All of them are small birds leading a sedentary lifestyle, and only species nesting far to the north migrate to warmer climes for the winter. These birds live mainly in forests, although many species have successfully adapted to life in the city. The main food of tits is insects and seeds.
The Great Tit belongs to the genus Titmouse, is a passerine bird and forms a separate species in its genus.
It lives in Europe, everywhere, except for the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula. These birds also settle in North Africa, Central and North Asia, the Middle East, northeast China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. In our country, the tit is common in the European part of the country, in the Amur region, Transbaikalia and in the south of Siberia. This species is not subject to migration and lives all the time in the same territory, even those birds that live in the North. Mass flights of tits to more favorable areas of their habitat were observed only in lean years.
The appearance of the tit
Everyone knows this bird because of its bright and memorable appearance. The titmouse has a bright yellow breast and lower body with a black stripe crossing them.
This strip is called a "tie". On the bird's head there is a black cap with a bluish tint, and a light spot on the back of the head. The lower part of the head, the so-called cheeks, are white. The back is light gray or pale yellow, with a black ring around the neck. The tail of the bird is pale blue. The wings have a light transverse stripe.
The plumage of females of this species is paler than that of males. The characteristic "tie" running down the abdomen is torn and thinner in appearance. Grown up chicks are similar in appearance to females. The tail of the tits is long, the beak is black. The body length is 12-15 cm with a weight of about 20 grams. The wingspan of this small bird is 23-25 cm. In size, the tit is very similar to a sparrow.
The great tit is easily identified by its black "tie". Behavior, nutrition, number of tits
Usually, tits live in flocks, breaking into pairs during the nesting period. These birds are excellent singers, producing rich and varied sound variations. Males sing much better than females and do it almost all year round. The songs of tits subside for a short time at the end of autumn - the beginning of winter. In addition to this time, tits with peppy trills and melodic chirping delight the ears of both urban and rural residents of our country.
Listen to the voice of the great tit
In the warm season, tits feed mainly on insects. Such as midges, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, caterpillars, crickets. Thus, the great tit destroys millions of forest and agricultural pests and brings great benefits to wildlife and humans. The food of the chicks consists of the most nutritious representatives of the insect world - caterpillars.
With the onset of winter cold, tits switch to plant foods. They feed mainly on seeds and cereals. These birds do not stock up for the winter, and if they find food hidden by other bird species, they eat it with pleasure. Do not disdain tits and carrion.
This species prefers to feed in the crowns of trees and on shrubs, descending to the ground reluctantly.
The population, according to scientists, is 300 million birds. This suggests that the great tit is not a threatened species. In nature, there are enough birds of this species to maintain the population at a high level.
Reproduction and lifespan
Tits are birds familiar to us since childhood. Nesting time may vary depending on the area in which these birds live. Usually, nesting lasts from February to September. This species makes two clutches during this period. The first, most massive laying occurs at the end of April - in May, the second - in June. During the mating season, birds behave aggressively towards their fellows and often arrange fights. In tits, a pair lasts for several years. They carefully guard their nest, keeping strangers away from it.
Usually, the nest is built by the female, arranging it in rock crevices, tree hollows, natural or artificial depressions located at a height of 3-5 meters.
Inside the recess, the female makes a small tray, 5-6 cm in circumference. Its depth can be 4-5 cm. The tray is lined with small twigs, leaves, moss, cobwebs, fluff and animal hair. In the first, largest clutch, there are from 6 to 12 eggs. The second clutch is usually 2 eggs less. The incubation period lasts 12-14 days. During this time, the male finds food and feeds the female incubating the clutch.
The tit bird is known and loved by many. She is a famous character in folk tales, fables and stories about nature. Titmouse can be found in various forests - deciduous and coniferous, in open areas, edges, along the banks of large and small reservoirs, in parks. Most tits stay at home in winter. Unless, if the winter is too severe, they fly a little south. In Russia, the most common (or big). It is the largest and most numerous. About what the titmouse eats in summer and winter, what are its habitat and appearance read in this article.
Appearance
This bird can be recognized by its conspicuous white cheeks. The head and neck (tie) are painted black. The belly is yellow and the upperparts are blue-black or olive, with slight variations in many subspecies. On the back of the head you can see a white spot with a yellowish tint. Wings and tail - with blue. The bird itself resembles a brightly colored sparrow (it is not for nothing that it is ranked among the numerous sparrows). Blue-yellow with black color is far visible in the forest, especially in winter.
The tit has strong legs and tenacious claws, allowing it to hang upside down in search of food in trees. This is a very mobile and fidgety bird. Body weight - up to 20 grams, length - 15 cm, wingspan - up to 25 cm. The name "tit" is supposed to come from the fact that some of the bird's feathers are blue in color.
habitats
Tits nest mainly in hollows of trees and in the hollows of the trunk, in various niches - natural or made by human hands. Tits live in forests, gardens, groves. In winter, they roam in flocks in search of food, with pleasure settling closer to a person when a cold winter makes them look for food everywhere. What does a titmouse eat in natural conditions? What are her gastronomic preferences? What does this bird like to eat the most?
diet
The tit mainly eats insects in the summer. Most of them belong to the unconditional pests of trees - wild and fruit trees. With its cone-shaped beak, slightly flattened laterally, tits can penetrate various cracks in the bark of trees and shrubs, extracting larvae, pupae, and insect eggs from there. Adults are also eaten. So the question of what titmouse eat in summer can be answered as follows: various insects. This is the great benefit of birds for gardeners: they help to destroy pests. And this little bird eats quite a lot: as much as it weighs itself.
Also, tits sometimes pull out seeds from the cones of coniferous trees with their beaks, they can peck at various fruits.
Feeding the chicks
Titmouse equip their nests in the recesses and crevices of old trees, in hollows left by woodpeckers, among snags and stumps. They do not disdain artificial “titmouses” or suitable shelters in human buildings.
The nest is twisted from small branches, dry grasses, horsehair, cocoons of spiders and insects, cobwebs. The female lays up to 15 eggs, incubates them for a couple of weeks. The male carries food to the expectant mother 2-3 times per hour.
What does a titmouse eat during incubation (and this happens twice a year, usually in April and June)? Again, larvae and pupae of insects, worms, bugs, dragonflies, butterflies are used. Sometimes - grass seeds or pieces of berries and fruits. After the chicks hatch, their parents feed them intensively, bringing food up to 300 times a day. They feed mainly on insects for 20 days.
What does a titmouse eat in winter
All types of tits are great friends of man. They deserve to be taken care of and treated well. Especially in winter, when in order to survive and keep warm in the cold, you need to eat a lot. This is probably why small flocks of tits roam the forest all winter, accompanying woodpeckers. Tit claws are attached to any branch, and, swaying upside down, they carefully examine the cracks and cracks in the bark of trees, depressions and other hidden shelters in the hope of feasting. If you're lucky, numb insects are removed from there. Such useful activity destroys pests even in winter, when many insectivores fly south, to warmth. Also, the advantage of tits is that they extract insects from such shelters that are inaccessible to larger birds (for example, woodpeckers).
What does a titmouse eat in winter? Some species tend to store food in reserve, hiding food in various cracks in the bark, in cracks, hollows. We can say that in winter the diet of birds is wider. For example, she eats bats that have fallen into hibernation.
From the hands of a man
What do tits eat in winter? How to feed these friendly and useful birds? First, you need to do living in gardens and parks. Tits with pleasure and often visit them, feed on sunflower seeds, lard (necessarily unsalted), milk cream. Sometimes nimble birds peek between the window panes through the window, where in winter some people store food - lard, butter, cottage cheese - and peck them with pleasure.
The striking representatives of the forest fauna are undoubtedly tits. These cute white-cheeked birds are small in size and brightly colored. The color of the plumage depends on the type of tits. There are several main varieties of this bird, with which we want to introduce you. In the article you will find photos and names of types of tits with their detailed description.
About tits
The dexterous, mischievous and incredibly mobile bird belongs to the Titmouse family and the Sparrow-like order. Tits are birds of prey and feed on various insects and larvae, which they prey on, searching all the cracks in the bark of trees.
Depending on the species, the weight of the birds varies from 14 to 30 grams, and the body length does not exceed 15 centimeters. To date, at least 65 species of this bird are known. In our article, we will describe the most popular and widespread varieties that live in our country.
In the following sections, we propose to consider in detail the description, name and photo of the types of tits. And we will start by getting to know the most common variety of this small bird.
The species of this tit is considered the most common in our country. Especially often it can be found in Siberia - from Altai to Baikal, as well as from Arkhangelsk to the Crimea, including the entire Caucasus. The type of tit got its name due to its rather large size (compared to other tits). She is also called a grasshopper or a big one.
The yellow breast of this white-cheeked bird is divided into two equal parts by a black stripe, and it is wider in males. Brilliant black color has the upper part of the head, neck, and goiter. The part of the back up to the bluish rump has a pale green color, and the tail itself and wings are dark brown in color with a slightly bluish tint. The great tit is completely omnivorous: it is not averse to eating a piece of bacon or meat, and seeds, and even stale bread. In addition, this type of tit is considered the most agile, cunning and predatory.
Blue tit
Blue and white blues are available. The blue type of tits is characterized by a bright blue crown and nape. Above the beak and eyes are narrow stripes of off-white color, and behind the eyes and on the upper part of the neck are blue stripes. The feathers on the shoulder part of the wings are gray-green, the throat and side of the cheeks are black-blue, the uppertail is juicy azure, the abdomen is bright yellow, and the wings and tail are bluish-green.
The blue tit (the second name is the prince) is the closest relative of the common blue tit and is considered one of the cutest types of tits. For the first time, the famous traveler and naturalist I. I. Lepekhin gave a description of this bird. The blue tit is quite rare in the Minsk region, but much more often it can be seen in the Trans-Volga region and in the Urals. In Siberia, this bird has a slightly different appearance, but the main colors differ slightly.
Moskovka
This type of tit is also called black or small. Its size is about one and a half to two times smaller than that of the great tit, and the color scheme almost completely coincides with it. Muscovites have the following shiny black body parts: throat, neck, forehead, top and back of the head, as well as stripes on the sides of the back of the neck. The cheeks and side of the neck are snow-white. The wings and tail are dark grey, while the breast and abdomen are slightly rufous. Among all types of tits, this one is the most tame and trusting.
The habitat of the Muscovite is a rather vast territory: from Lapland to Ukraine, and in Russia - almost throughout the taiga, Ryazan and Ulyanovsk. Crimean, Caucasian and Tien Shan Muscovites are distinguished by the presence of brown or olive plumage on the abdomen, as well as stronger beaks.
Grenadier
The crested tit (the species also has such a name) has a very noticeable difference from other tits, which consists in a long tuft, which has a wide base and a sharp top. The plumage color of the grenadier is rather dull and has predominantly brown and red shades.
The wings and tail are dark brown, the back is slightly lighter. The sides and abdomen are gray-brown, and the breast is off-white. The crest on the head is made up of black feathers with white tips. Parallel black stripes run from the beak through the eye and from the goiter to the back of the head, and the sides of the head are white.
The crested tit is most common in the northern half of the European part of our country. Most often it can be found in coniferous forests from Arkhangelsk to Bashkiria. The grenadier is considered a particularly rare species of tit for the territory of the Caucasus. This species is not suitable for home keeping, because its singing qualities are not so good.
gaichka
The brown-headed tit, the puffball, the marsh tit - all these are the names of a numerous and medium-sized species of tits. It differs in a rather unremarkable color, devoid of variegated tones. The head, occiput and a small speck under the beak have a rich black color. The entire upper body is painted in light gray tones, and the breast, abdomen and cheeks are almost white. The tail and wings are darker - from gray to brown.
You can meet the tit almost everywhere: from Pskov to Kharkov and Voronezh, as well as from the Volga region to the Pacific Ocean. Caucasian, Altai and Siberian marsh tits are being replaced by geographical subspecies that are as similar as possible to the common tit. Gaitlets nest in hollows that they hollow out themselves, but sometimes they are able to occupy an already finished dwelling.
ladle
Among the different types of tits, one can separately note the long-tailed beautiful titmouse. It differs from all other species in its long tail and small body size. The silhouette of this titmouse resembles a spoon. The very beautiful plumage of the mullet consists of loose and light feathers. The head, neck and breast of this bird are white or slightly grayish in color. The sides and upper part of the tail are pink-wine, while the uppertail, shoulders, wings and the tail itself are burning black. In addition, the outer edges of the fans are white, which expands from the middle.
In general, the long-tailed tit is considered a rare bird. However, in our country they are especially common. The mullet is one of the most common types of tits in the Tula region, the Caucasus, the Crimea and the Ussuri region. They especially love damp deciduous forests.
Interestingly, the ladle is one of the few tits that can be tamed and can live in captivity for a long time. A trusting bird is able to eat out of hand within 3-4 days after being caught. The main condition for its maintenance is the presence of a variety of food. In addition, the long-tailed tit sings loudly and melodiously, and therefore is especially appreciated by both beginners and experienced birders. It is best to keep it together with a canary, which will teach the titmouse more beautiful singing.
