Wildlife In Focus | The 9 Official Species of The Tit Family Resident In The British Isles

The Coal Tit (Periparus ater) is one of the smallest of the tit family. They are common garden visitors, but their preferred habitat is coniferous woodlands and forests. They hunt insects and spiders. They prefer to nest in holes formed in trees; producing between one and two broods a year. They have black caps and bibs, white spots on the back of their necks, and white cheeks. Their body and wing feathers range from white to olive-grey.

Conservation Status

The Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus) overall appearance is not dissimilar to that of the Coal Tit, except that the Crested Tit sports a rather distinctive plumage on its head. They sport a black collar and bib with a black stripe running from their eyes. You will only find the Crested Tit in Caledonian Pine forests in Scotland, where they dart amongst the trees in search of invertebrates as well as their favorite food the pine seed. Breeding pairs excavate holes in dead wood to nest and line them with lichen & moss; they have up to two broods per year.

Conservation Status

The Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) has seen a steady decline in numbers since the 1960s and is suspected as a result of habitat loss. Consequently, it has been registered on the U.K. red list since 2022.

The Marsh Tit favors deciduous woodland, and whilst distributed across the U.K. does not appear in anything like the numbers that some of the other tit species appear in. They nest in holes in trees, the parents or offspring never wandering more than 1km from their birth territory. They typically only lay a single clutch of eggs each year.

Similar in appearance to the Coal Tit with their white to olive grey body feathers and a black cap. They have a little black beard but lack the bib of their cousin. They are also very similar to the Willow Tit, therefore particular care is needed to identify between these two birds.

Conservation Status

The Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) like its doppelganger the Marsh Tit has also seen a sharp decline in numbers since the 1970s leading to the species being red-listed in 2022. It has even become locally extinct in some regions of the U.K. where it previously had a stronghold. It is thought that the cause is habitat loss.

The Willow Tit is a very shy woodland bird, which prefers to nest in old deadwood in either broadleaf, coniferous, or scrub environments. Adults attempt a single brood each year. It is the habitat that is a good indicator of whether you are looking at a Willow Tit or a Marsh Tit. The other main differentiator is the distinctive Willow Tit call.

Conservation Status

The Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is one of the U.Ks most popular birds with its distinctive blue-green and yellow coloring. They are a common resident breeding bird, with strong numbers across the whole of the British Isles except for the Northern Isles and Hebrides.

Blue Tits nest in tree holes but are equally happy nesting in birdhouses. They will often form mixed flocks of birds with other tit species for feeding. Adults have between one and two breeding attempts each year, with up to 10 eggs in each brood!

For more information on the Blue Tit, check out our dedicated Blue Tit Species In Focus article

Conservation Status

The Great Tit (Parus major) is another common bird in gardens across the U.K. They are larger than their other cousins and have a distinctive yellow breast with a black stripe running up their body into a black bib and cap. Their wing feathers range from yellow-green, blue, and grey, with a white stripe. They nest in a variety of habitats but favor broadleaf. They will also take readily to bird boxes, laying up to two clutches of eggs each year.

Conservation Status

If you spot the Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus) in the U.K., then you are very lucky indeed, as official recorded sightings only run into the 100s. There are no official records of these birds breeding in the U.K. with visitors mainly originating from Scandinavia. If you do want to spot them, then records indicate that you need to be in the south of England between December and March; but even then, records are scattered!

Conservation Status

The Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus) is only distantly related to the other tit species in this list. This is perhaps why they are the most unique looking out of the UK resident species. The Bearded Tit inhabits areas where there is an abundance of reeds and can be found all year round, with the main population zones in England and scattered populations in Wales and the Tayside area of Scotland.

They have an auburn body coloring with a grey head and a black beard. In the summer they mainly eat insects and then switch their diet to mostly seeds in the winter. Their reproductive cycle is quite active, they have between 2 and 4 broods each year.

Conservation Status

Long-Tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus) are instantly recognizable by their distinctive pink breast feathers and their extraordinarily long tails compared to our other resident tits. As well as having pink feathers, they have black stripes on their heads and down their wings and tail feathers. Their cheeks and cap are white.

They are very sociable birds and often travel in groups in search of food. Consequently, you will often hear their chirps long before you spot them. Long-tailed Tits have a single clutch of eggs each year, favoring woodland and hedgerow habitats. They have an unusual breeding strategy compared to any of the other resident tits, whereby younger non-breeding birds will support breeding pairs to rear chicks. They can be found across the U.K. except on higher ground and some of the Isles.

Conservation Status