Parus major
Great Tit (Parus major)
Featured photogreat-tit.jpgParus major, the great tit, is a small Paridae of Europe, North Africa, and central Asia. Adults are 13.5 to 15 cm long with a wingspan of 22.5 to 25.5 cm and weigh 14 to 22 g. The plumage shows a glossy black cap and bib bisecting white cheeks, a black ventral stripe across a yellow belly, and an olive-green back with bluish wings. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern; the great tit is one of the most studied wild bird populations in the world.
Quick facts
- Habitat
- Mixed and deciduous woodland, parks, and gardens. The species adapted readily to human-modified landscapes and is among the commonest garden-feeder visitors across temperate Europe.
- Range
- Most of Europe and North Africa, east through temperate Asia to eastern China and Japan. The species has expanded its range north over the last several decades, tracking warmer winters and the spread of suburban tree planting.
- Size
- 13.5–15 cm body · 22.5–25.5 cm wingspan · 14–22 g
- Plumage
- Adults show a glossy black cap and a black bib that broadens into a longitudinal black stripe down the centre of the bright yellow belly — the width of this stripe is wider in males. Cheeks are pure white; the back is olive-green and the wings and tail blue-grey with a single white wing bar.
- Song
- A two- or three-note repeated phrase, transcribed as 'tea-cher, tea-cher, tea-cher'. The species' vocal repertoire is one of the largest of any small songbird, with over forty distinct phrases recorded.
- Migration
- Sedentary across most of the range. Some northern populations show short-distance movements in winter, but no regular long-distance migration.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (LC)
Overview
Parus major is the type species of the genus and one of the most thoroughly studied wild bird populations in ecological science. Long-running studies at Wytham Woods (Oxford) and Hoge Veluwe (Netherlands) have followed individually marked populations for over fifty years and contributed foundational results on breeding ecology, sexual selection, and life-history theory.
Distribution
The species is one of the most widely distributed Palaearctic songbirds, with a range from the Atlantic coast of Europe and North Africa east to Japan. Several closely related Asian species (cinereous tit, Japanese tit) were treated as subspecies of Parus major through much of the twentieth century but are now widely recognized as separate species.
Behaviour and song
Great tits have one of the largest known song repertoires of any small songbird, with over forty distinct phrases recorded from individual males. Repertoire size correlates with male territory quality and breeding success. Urban great tit populations sing at higher minimum frequencies than rural neighbours — one of the textbook examples of urban acoustic adaptation in birds.
Sources & further reading (2)
- iucn-red-list — accessed 2026-04-29
- encyclopedia — accessed 2026-04-29
Frequently asked questions
What does the width of the black belly stripe mean?
The black stripe running down the centre of the male's yellow belly is wider and bolder than the female's — and within males, a wider stripe correlates with higher dominance, better territory quality, and greater breeding success. The trait is sexually selected and visible to humans only on careful comparison; great tits use it routinely in social interactions.
Why is the great tit so heavily studied?
Great tits readily accept nest-boxes (allowing access to nests for ringing and measurement), have short generation times, breed once or twice a year, and live in the woodlands of countries with strong long-running ornithological infrastructure. Studies at Wytham Woods (Oxford), Hoge Veluwe (Netherlands), and Lund (Sweden) have followed individual marked populations for over fifty years.
Have great tits really learned to open milk bottles?
The classic study comes from mid-twentieth-century Britain, where great tits and blue tits learned to peck through the foil tops of milk bottles delivered to doorsteps and drink the cream. The behaviour spread regionally through social learning. The phenomenon largely disappeared once doorstep milk delivery declined in the late twentieth century.
