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      Take a relaxing dip in Sandwell Valley with stress-busting forest bathing.

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      male ring ouzels are particularly distinctive with their black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band.

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  • Blue tit

Blue tit

Blue tit
Blue tit
Blue tit (juvenile)
Blue tit (juvenile)
  • Scientific name: Cyanistes caeruleus
  • Bird family: Tits
  • UK conservation status: Green
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Audio

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Patrik Aberg, Xeno-canto

Key information

A colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green makes the blue tit one of our most attractive and most recognisable garden visitors. In winter, family flocks join up with other tits as they search for food. A garden with four or five blue tits at a feeder at any one time may be feeding 20 or more.

What they eat:

Insects, caterpillars, seeds and nuts.

Measurements:

Length:
12cm
Wingspan:
18cm
Weight:
11g

Population:

UK breeding:
3,600,000 territories
UK wintering:
15 million birds
Europe:
20-44 million pairs

Identifying features:

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.

Blue tit

Blue tit adult
Feather colour: Black Blue Green Grey White Yellow
Beak: Black Short Thin
Natural habitats: Woodland Farmland Urban and suburban

Blue tit (juvenile)

Blue tit juvenile
Feather colour: Black Blue Green Grey White Yellow
Beak: Black Short Thin
Natural habitats: Woodland Farmland Urban and suburban

Similar birds:

  • Great tit adult
    Great tit

Where and when to see them

Blue tits are common in woodland, hedgerows, parks and gardens. They're widespread and found across the whole of the UK with the exception of some Scottish islands.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Blue tit distribution map

Blue tits can be seen all year round.

  • jan
  • feb
  • mar
  • apr
  • may
  • jun
  • jul
  • aug
  • sep
  • oct
  • nov
  • dec

Video

Video

Watch a blue tit collecting food and feeding its chicks.

Watch a blue tit collecting food and feeding its chicks.

Play video
Blue tit video stil

Big Garden Birdwatch

Bird table

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Find the answers to all your bird feeding questions.

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