Finglas Back Garden
[group] Tits and chickadees | [order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Paridae | [latin] Parus major | [UK] Great Tit | [FR] Mesange charbonniere | [DE] Kohlmeise | [ES] Carbonero Comun | [NL] Koolmees | [IRL] Meantán mór
spanwidth min.: 22 cm
spanwidth max.: 25 cm
size min.: 13 cm
size max.: 15 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 13 days
incubation max.: 14 days
fledging min.: 18 days
fledging max.: 14 days
broods 1
eggs min.: 8
eggs max.: 10
Ox-eye, Teacher Bird, Saw Sharpener, Black-headed Tomtit
One of Ireland's top-20 most widespread garden birds.
Status: Resident
Conservation Concern: Green-listed in Ireland. The European population has been evaluated as Secure.
Identification: The largest of the tit family. Striking black head with large white cheek patches and black band running down the centre of a bright yellow breast. Back yellowish- green, wings and tail silvery blue. In flight, white outer tail feathers show. When perched, a distinct white wingbar shows. Bill is pointed but stout, legs bluish-grey.
Similar Species: Blue Tit, Coal Tit.
Call: Typical song a loud, full "teacher, teacher" and many other variations. Call a scolding sound or a quiet, repeated " tew, tew tew".
Diet: Mainly insects, seeds and nuts. Will use peanut feeders and take scraps on bird tables.
Breeding: Breeds throughout Ireland - prefers broad-leaved woodland, but also in farmland, parks and gardens. Nests in cavity in tree or wall. Often choosing unusual site such as a pipe or letterbox. Readily uses nestboxes.
Wintering: Widespread.
Where to See: Common and widespread throughout Ireland.
Physical characteristics
Large tit, with quite long and broad tail, quite heavy and spiky bill, and rather large domed head. Body and tail like Sylvia warbler. Plumage basically blue-green above and yellow below, white-cheeked black head, black central stripe on underbody, and white wing-bar and tail edges. Sexes closely similar, some seasonal vareation.
Habitat
Breeds in west Palearctic from higher to lower middle latitudes, continental and oceanic, in coolest and warmest forest zones, from subarctic to Mediterranean, and marginally in steppe and semi-desert. Extralimitally in Asia extends deep into tropics. Able to ascend mountains to treeline exceptionally 1900 m. But is much more a lowland species, disliking pure coniferous forest, and preferring mixed types and preferring mixed types and more open or even fragmented and scattered tree cover may be less important than structure and density of undergrowth.
Other details
Parus major is a widespread resident across most of Europe, which accounts for less than half of its global range. Its European breeding population is extremely large (>46,000,000 pairs), and was stable between 1970-1990. Although there were declines in a handful of countries during 1990-2000, populations were stable across the vast majority of Europe, and the species remained stable overall.
Feeding
Wide variety of insects, especially Lepidoptera and Coleptera, also spiders. Significant amount of seeds and fruit in winter. In winter, forages in wide variety of sites but mainly below 6-7 m. In spring, feeding height generally rises suddenly to above 9 m when feeding on caterpillars. In winter, takes insects from bark, twigs, walls, and leaf litter, and may move nearer to human habitation to feed at bird-tables, etc.
Breeding
Laying begins April over most of west Palerctic, March-April in lowland areas in south, May in north. Nest is built in tree-hole or, if not available, in wall or other man-made structure of any kind. Nest consists of a foundation mainly of moss, often with some dry grass or other vegetable matter, thickly lined with hair, wool, and often feathers. Clutch is 3-18 eggs which are Incubated for 12-15 days, by female alone.
Migration
Resident over much of southern and central part of range and irregular eruptive migrant from northern areas, sometimes moving in huge numbers. Altitudinal migrant from some of highest breeding areas.