Fun Blue Tit Facts For Kids

Have you heard of these colorful garden birds? These birds are famed for their acrobatic skills, as they will hang upside down from branches and feeders to obtain their snacks! So, let's take a trip to the European woodlands and gardens to discover some interesting facts about these active-agile birds.

The blue tit is one of the most popular and common European garden birds with the most attractive and colorful appearance. The scientific name of this species is Cyanistes caeruleus and they are also commonly known as the Eurasian blue tit. They are a common sight in Europe and are easily identified by their small blue crown, white head, black eyestripes, greeny-blue feathers, yellow belly, and blue wings and tail. They are often confused with the great tit, which looks similar but is larger than the blue tit bird. A male and female look similar, but males have blue crowns that appear brighter under ultraviolet light. The female tit selects her mate and nesting location for breeding. Their nest is a small cup mainly made from moss, dried grasses, and leaves lined with hair, wool, and feathers.

Continue reading to learn more exciting blue tit bird facts and why not learn about other species like the Blackburnian warbler and the rusty blackbird here?

What type of animal is a blue tit?

The blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is the most enchanting small passerine bird. They are usually residents, non-migrant breeders, and persistent visitors to garden feeders.

What class of animal does a blue tit belong to?

The blue tit, also known as the Eurasian blue tit, belongs to the Aves class and is in the tit family, Paridae.

How many blue-tit birds are there in the world?

Blue tit numbers are estimated to be around 3.4 million pairs in the UK.

Where does a blue tit live?

Blue tit birds are found widely throughout Europe (including in Ireland and the United Kingdom) and in parts of the Middle East, western Asia, and North Africa.

What is a blue tit's habitat?

They inhabit various habitats like deciduous or mixed woodlands, hedgerows, tree holes, parks, and gardens. They are also highly adaptable to nest in artificial nest boxes in urban gardens.

Who do blue tits live with?

Blue-tit birds are very social. In winter, they join up in large flocks with other bird species to search for food. They are seen in pairs during the breeding season.

How long does a blue tit live?

A blue tit tends to live for around three to 11 years. The current longevity record for this species is 10 years and three months in Britain and 11 years and seven months for a bird in the Czech Republic!

How do they reproduce?

A blue tit's breeding season takes place between April and late June. They usually produce two broods in a year. First, the female builds the nest alone, usually in a hole in a tree, wall, stump, or in artificial nest boxes, often competing with the great tit or house sparrow for suitable nesting places. Then the female bird lays seven to 14 eggs in a clutch. Eggs are 0.55-0.71 in (14-18 mm) long and 0.42-0.53 in (10.7-13.5 mm) wide. The size of the eggs depends mostly on the size of individual females and their habitat.

The female will incubate the eggs, which last about 12 to 16 days, while the male bird is responsible for providing food in the nest, in a process called courtship feeding. The young chicks spend three weeks in the nest before fledging and are fed by both parents with caterpillars and insects.

What is their conservation status?

As per the IUCN Red List, this species is classified as Least Concern. At present, there are no significant threats, and blue tit numbers have been increasing.

What do blue tit birds look like?

Blue tit birds have a distinctive appearance with an azure-blue crown, a black bill, white cheeks, black eye stripes, and a yellow belly. Also, their nape, wings, and tail are blue with a yellowish-green back.

How cute are they?

The blue tit is the most attractive garden bird. These birds look pretty cute with a bright and colorful mix of blue, yellow, and white cheeks, and green feathers.

How do they communicate?

Blue tit birds are a species in the order of songbirds and so they make various calls to communicate. The calls they make can be classified as contact calls, scolding calls, copulation calls, feeding calls, or distress calls.

Contact calls are short calls to stay in touch with each other birds to inform them of their location. Scolding calls are made as an alarm call to warn ground predators and accompany aggressive interactions. The 'seeet' call is an alarm call for predators in the sky like sparrowhawks. A distress call is made when a predator seizes a blue tit and the feeding call is a short, low-pitched call that parent birds make when they have food for chicks. Juveniles use a begging call to beg for food from their parents.

How big is a blue tit?

A blue tit can reach around 4.7 in (12 cm) in length and have a wingspan ranging from 6.9-7.9 in (17.5-20 cm). They are half the size of a robin.

How fast can a blue tit fly?

Blue tit birds are small and relatively slow birds. During the breeding season, a male performs flight displays to attract females. Their average flying speed is around 15.5-21 mph (25-34 kph).

How much does a blue tit weigh?

The blue tit is an elegant little bird weighing around 0.39 oz (11 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

A female is known as a female blue tit, and a male bird is known as the male blue tit.

What would you call a baby blue tit?

Baby blue tit birds are called chicks or sometimes hatchlings, nestlings, or fledglings. Young blue tit birds can be easily recognizable as most of their blue coloring is subdued to greenish and they have yellow cheeks.

What do they eat?

Blue tit birds are active feeders of caterpillars, insects, and spiders. They regularly visit garden bird feeders and feed on fruits and seeds in the winter season, especially when insect prey is scarce. They are well-known as the valuable destroyers of garden and agriculture pests, including many Lepidoptera species like the wood tiger moth, coccids, and aphids. When nesting, these birds feed mainly on caterpillars to their young.

Are they dangerous?

Blue tit birds are quite friendly birds that are often found in urban gardens and are not dangerous to humans.

Would they make a good pet?

Blue-tit birds make good pets since they are drawn to urban gardens to build their nest and can adapt to artificial nest boxes. A nest box with a small round entrance hole and peanut feeders will attract blue tits to nest in your gardens.

Did you know...

One of the most fun facts about the blue tit bird is that blue tit birds will have more intensely yellow underparts, depending on the number of yellowy-green caterpillars eaten as they contain carotene pigments.

They lay eggs specifically during the time of year when green caterpillars are abundant, thus providing food for their young birds. To rear a brood of blue tit birds, nearly 10,000 green caterpillars may be consumed!

Male blue-tit birds are polygamous and mate with several females.

What do blue tit birds sound like?

The blue tit's song is quite distinctive and sounds like 'tsee-see-tsu-hu-hu-hu-hu'. The song is mainly used in late winter to attract mates or to defend their territory. However, their song can sometimes be heard throughout the year.

Blue Tit Birds In Gardens

If you would like some help attracting blue-tit birds to your garden, hang whole peanuts in a mesh container near nest boxes in different areas. Be cautious about domestic cats and sparrowhawks, which are the major predators of tit birds in gardens.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our belted kingfisher facts and Florida scrub jay facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable blue tit coloring pages.