We are searching data for your request:
Upon completion, a link will appear to access the found materials.
Systematic classification and distribution
Class: Birds
Order: Passeriformi
Family: Paridi
Kind: Parus
Species: P. major
The great tit, which is the largest European representative of the titmouse family, is one of the most common and widespread birds in our country; it resides throughout the year on the territory, without migrating.
Great Tit - Parus major L. (photo http://kpe-kastor.kas.sch.gr)
Great Tit - Parus major L. (photo www.parcodelbrembiolo.it)
Distinctive characters
Length: 15cm
Medium weight:
- Male: 16-21 grams
- Female: 16 - 21 grams
Wingspan: 22 - 25 cm
The great tit has a greenish plumage on its back, with a bluish gray tail and wings. The head and throat are shiny black, with white cheeks. The yellow breast is crossed longitudinally by a black line from the throat to the abdomen which, in males, is slightly wider.
Biology
It usually lives below 1500 meters above sea level and mainly frequents semi-open environments: sparse deciduous forests, forest edges, arable land and orchards with hedges and bushes; very frequently also towns and cities. In inhabited places he often appears very confident, feeding on mangers until he becomes almost domestic. The feeding of the great tit is mainly composed of small insects, but also of seeds; in autumn and winter the latter become predominant, coming to run out of food of animal origin.
Nesting takes place in holes in the trunks, holes in the walls and other types of cavities; the nest boxes are regularly occupied. Each couple makes one or two broods per year; the number of eggs per brood, which varies from 6 to 12, is programmed on the basis of the quantity of food that the couple believes may be offered by the territory in which they settled.
