Bird of the week - Great tit

Great tits (Parus major) are the commonest birds in my garden.  They are very obvious at this time of year with the males singing loudly and looking very handsome.  Males have brighter colours and a glossier black head with a broader black chest stripe.

Great tits are present in about 3 in 4 gardens in the BTO Garden BirdWatch data and are present all year round in most.

Great tit numbers have increased steadily over the last 50 years, as shown by these BTO data.  Like blue tits they are woodland birds that have adapted to thrive in gardens, taking advantage of bird feeders and nest boxes.

Great tits have a wide variety of calls and songs - if I hear a bird in the garden that I don't immediately recognise it is usually a great tit.  Great tits are the main predator of bees in the garden - I expect they mostly pick off the dead or dying bees but they are often hanging around the hives.  I haven't managed a photo of this behaviour yet but I'll post it when I do.

Listen to Sir David Attenborough's BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day on great tits here.  Read more about great tits on the BTO website here and here and on BTO BirdTrends here.