Great Tit
Parus major
Where is it found?
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Woodlands, urban parks and gardens
Diet and foraging
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Forage on the ground or in trees, picking up food items with their beak, strike large food items (nuts and large invertebrates) with their bills until small enough to eat.
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Key adaptations
They have a large, heavy bill for cracking open nuts and taking the heads off large invertebrates.
Social organisation and mating system
Flocks
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Socially monogamous but extra-pair mating occurs.
Did you know that...?
Great Tits remove tannins from the gut of their caterpillar prey - by literally squeezing the life out of them - before feeding them to chicks as these chemicals are harmful to chick's and can slow their growth.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Great tit side-on" by © Francis C. Franklin / CC-BY-SA-3.0. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_tit_side-on.jpg#/media/File:Great_tit_side-on.jpg
"Parus major 4 (Marek Szczepanek)". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parus_major_4_(Marek_Szczepanek).jpg#/media/File:Parus_major_4_(Marek_Szczepanek).jpg
"Kohlmeise Parus major Eier in Nest-Nistkasten-001" by OhWeh - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kohlmeise_Parus_major_Eier_in_Nest-Nistkasten-001.jpg#/media/File:Kohlmeise_Parus_major_Eier_in_Nest-Nistkasten-001.jpg
"Parus" by Arnstein Rønning - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parus.JPG#/media/File:Parus.JPG
"Kohlmeise beim Füttern" by Highway45 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kohlmeise_beim_F%C3%BCttern.jpg#/media/File:Kohlmeise_beim_F%C3%BCttern.jpg
"Mesange charbonnière bain de soleil" by Père Igor - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mesange_charbonni%C3%A8re_bain_de_soleil.JPG#/media/File:Mesange_charbonni%C3%A8re_bain_de_soleil.JPG
"ParusMajorGould" by John Gould (1804 – 1881) - Birds of Europe. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ParusMajorGould.jpg#/media/File:ParusMajorGould.jpg
"Great tit side-on" by © Francis C. Franklin / CC-BY-SA-3.0. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_tit_side-on.jpg#/media/File:Great_tit_side-on.jpg
"Parus major 4 (Marek Szczepanek)". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parus_major_4_(Marek_Szczepanek).jpg#/media/File:Parus_major_4_(Marek_Szczepanek).jpg
"Kohlmeise Parus major Eier in Nest-Nistkasten-001" by OhWeh - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kohlmeise_Parus_major_Eier_in_Nest-Nistkasten-001.jpg#/media/File:Kohlmeise_Parus_major_Eier_in_Nest-Nistkasten-001.jpg
"Parus" by Arnstein Rønning - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parus.JPG#/media/File:Parus.JPG
"Kohlmeise beim Füttern" by Highway45 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kohlmeise_beim_F%C3%BCttern.jpg#/media/File:Kohlmeise_beim_F%C3%BCttern.jpg
"Mesange charbonnière bain de soleil" by Père Igor - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mesange_charbonni%C3%A8re_bain_de_soleil.JPG#/media/File:Mesange_charbonni%C3%A8re_bain_de_soleil.JPG
"ParusMajorGould" by John Gould (1804 – 1881) - Birds of Europe. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ParusMajorGould.jpg#/media/File:ParusMajorGould.jpg