Species guide
Great Tit: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Oscar Valencoso - Salomé Planas · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Parus major
- Family
- Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice
- Size
- About 13–15 cm
- Habitat
- Woodland, parks and gardens
- Found in
- Europe, Africa, Asia and North America
The key marks
A glossy black head with white cheeks, yellow underparts and a black stripe down the belly that is broader on males.
Voice
A ringing “teacher-teacher” song and many other calls.
Good to know
It has a large vocabulary of calls, and its simple two-note “teacher, teacher” song is easy to learn.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in woodland, parks and gardens. It is especially common in Poland, Norway, Sweden and Kyrgyzstan. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.