Great Tit - description, habitat, interesting facts

The great tit is a very familiar bird for residents of Eurasia and parts of Africa. On the territory of Russia it lives in the Caucasus, Siberia and the Amur region. The big tit nests in deciduous plantings, near reservoirs, at the same time she will never meet in the coniferous forest. The bird is so unpretentious that it can be found both in the forest belt, on the plains, in parks, and also in cities. To people the bird stretches due to lack of food. Only 20% of birds survive the winter.

How to recognize a bird

The average size of a big tit is 15 centimeters. The bird weighs about 20 grams. She can swing her wings an average of 23 centimeters. Great tit is very beautiful. On her breast is a black stripe, like a tie, which divides the abdomen into two halves of lemon color. The back shimmers with olive color, and the wings and tail are gray.Natural outfit complements the black beret at the crown, which is in harmony with the white cheeks of the bird.

Males differ from females in a brighter outfit. Tits have a large head with a straight beak and a long tail. Plumage is soft and pleasant to the touch. The bird has strong legs with tenacious, rounded claws.

Why many know tit

Tit is not a migratory bird. However, she gets closer to people when she has nothing to eat. Only the sun will start to warm in the month of February, as the ringing birds singing can be heard from the street. Light sound reminds residents of cities about the approach of spring. Watching the bird moving in the air, one can only admire how competently it acts with its body. The wingspan allows you to wave them a couple of times in order to soar upwards, then it falls like a stone downwards, while spending a minimum of its energy.

From the life of tits

Bird diet

Favorite dainty birds - are insects of different species. She loves bugs, caterpillars and does not disdain flies. The bird is in constant search of food. People feed the birds with pieces of bacon, laying it on the windowsill of the apartment. Titmouse brings its benefits due to the destruction of harmful insects.

Unlike other birds, tit does not make stocks for the winter, from which it suffers in winter, however, the bird likes to feast on the stocks of others.

Breeding tits

It all starts in early spring, when birds form in married couples. After, the arrangement of the nest begins. For their children they choose a hollow in a tree at an altitude of up to 5 meters. The nest is strewn with feathers, animal hair and moss. From April to June, the female has a serious period for hatching. The female lays eggs twice, one brood can reach up to 12 eggs.

Eggs of white tit in red or brown spots. While the female is engaged in incubation of chicks (the period lasts about two weeks), the head of the family provides her food.At the same time, married couples strictly divide their territory in order to provide decent food for the offspring. During this period, the birds can be aggressive and fight for food, even with their relatives. The area for finding food usually reaches 50 meters.

After the chicks hatched, for the first three days, the bird gives all its maternal warmth to the children. At this time, the male is a food getter, both for his girlfriend and the chicks that have appeared. The nestlings feed consists of caterpillars no larger than 1 centimeter in size. One chick during the day can eat insects weighing up to 7 grams. After three days, the female joins the male, and they raise the young for about 20 days.

After the kids first left the nest, flight lessons begin. If the chick has learned to fly (it takes about a week), parents can continue to take care of their children and even feed them. The second brood will be smaller than the first. After the birds have matured, they fly into flocks. The birds are grouped in the amount of 40-50 individuals. Often in a flock you can see representatives of other species, for example, landslides.

After 10 months, the chicks become mature individuals.

Breeding birds in captivity

Tits in captivity are grown because of beautiful singing. It is easy to feed a bird, therefore its maintenance has the advantages. The bird song in the spring is very beautiful, because at this moment the male invites the female. Tits teach singing canaries, which are very valued oatmeal singing. If the bird is well looked after, then the titmum gets used to captivity rather easily.

Tit very curious and cocky nature. And her predatory temper can harm smaller birds. A bird can even crush a smaller bird if they are in the same cage. So that such confusion did not happen, the bird should be settled with larger birds, for example, thrush, nuthatch or woodpecker.

How to keep tit

Big tit in captivity can be fed soft food. For example, you can rub carrots, finish with soft curd and soaked crackers. You can also feed the minced meat or chopped fish, grated chicken egg. Dried insects and ants eggs are added to the food. Treats for tits are flour worms, which it is desirable to give every week.Hemp, sunflower seeds and pine nuts can also be included in the bird’s diet. Grain feed may consist of cedar seeds, sunflower seeds, walnut, but at the same time, everything is finely crushed and served in a separate bowl.

The bird loves water very much, but uses it not only for drinking, but also for swimming. Therefore it is necessary to prepare two bowls, one with drinking water, the second for swimming. The bowl for "water procedures" should not be deep and small.

In order for the bird to breed outside the wild nature, it is necessary to provide them with a separate room.

Interesting Facts

1. Body temperature synca varies depending on the time of day, during the day it reaches 42 degrees, in the evening it can drop to 39.
2. The frequency of the heartbeat can vary from 500 to 1000 beats per second, depending on the excitation.
3. A bird can eat insects more than its weight. When feeding their chicks, they eat up to 1,800 bugs daily.
4. Tit is so active and curious that it can be fed from the hand.
5. Beak tits can grow as wear. After all, it is precisely with its beak that a bird can hatch a hollow, chop nuts and get a necessary insect from under the bark.

How many tits live

Great tit in the wild can live 1-3 years, with good care in captivity up to 15 years. In the cold season, a lot of individuals die due to lack of food. The strength of each person to help the bird survive in severe frosts. After all, tit helps a person get rid of pests. For example, during the period of feeding chicks, tits can save about 40 trees and shrubs from pests. Great tit is a good orderly of the forest, park, garden. After all, it can get under the bark of a tree in search of a harmful insect, where even a woodpecker with his skill cannot reach.
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Video: big tit (Parus major)