Great Titmouse and Blue Titmouse

scale 1:1
length: 14 cm and 12 cm

degree of difficulty 2

The Great Tit and the Blue Tit

The Great Tit and the Blue Tit are two of the most common garden birds. They are welcome visitors to seed and fat feeders in winter. They belong to the Paridae family, which comprises 65 species of Titmouse, Chickadee and Tit; none are larger than the Sparrow. They are very lively tumblers and many have brightly coloured plumage. Their beaks are short and stout, they have powerful feet and talons and their plumage is dense and soft. In most species the male and female are identical. Populations are widely distributed around the world, with the exception of South America and the Polar regions.
They are true woodland birds that comb trees for insects and other morsels. Many of them also eat berries and seeds. They use one foot to clutch their food and use their beaks to hammer it open. Their characteristic habit of hanging from branches upside down is shown in the cut-out model. Tits are very trusting and often congregate around people in gardens and parks.
Although the Great Tit and the Blue Tit are regularly mistaken for one another, the two species actually look very different. The Great Tit is clearly larger (14 cm) and has a block cap, white cheek patches and a yellow underside, with a gradually widening black stripe down the middle. The Blue Tit (12 cm) has a bright blue cap and a white face.
They are different in terms of behaviour, too. The Great Tit is somewhat more aggressive than the Blue Tit and will get first crack of the feeder. Both species like to nest in boxes, with the diameter of the opening determining which species it will attract as a suitable home.
The females lay a clutch of 5-12 eggs from mid-April until early May. The young are fed a diet consisting mainly of insects and larvae and generally spend 2-3 weeks in the nest before fledging.