Details
Cyanistes caeruleus
The Eurasian blue tit is a tiny Palearctic tit with a blue cap and yellow underparts. It moves acrobatically through branches and eats both insects and plant foods.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses deciduous and mixed woodland, hedgerows, parks, and gardens. Tree holes and nest boxes provide common breeding sites.
Length is 11-12 cm and weight 9-13 g. A blue crown and wings, white face, dark eye stripe, and yellow belly make it easy to recognize.
Diurnal birds often join loose mixed flocks outside the breeding season. They inspect twigs and leaves closely, sometimes hanging upside down to reach food.
An omnivore, it eats many caterpillars, small insects, and spiders in spring and summer. In autumn and winter it also takes seeds, nuts, and buds.
Pairs nest in cavities or nest boxes lined with moss and hair. While chicks grow, adults deliver large numbers of small insects.
It is listed as Least Concern. Its readiness to use gardens and nest boxes makes it one of the more familiar woodland birds.
