All About Blue Tits - Blue Tit Bird Facts & Information

About Blue Tits

Blue tits are a small little European bird that is a part of the tit species.

The beautiful birds are a colourful mix of yellow, white, green, and of course blue. The common birds are recognisable from their blue cap (also known affectionately as their blue crown), white cheeks, yellow chest, dark line around the eyes, and brightly coloured feathers.

It's an easy mistake to confuse a blue tit with a great tit or other tit species due to the similarity in the shape of the bird species and the colouring. However, a key distinguishing factor of a blue tit is that they are much smaller than great tits which are larger birds.

A fascinating tidbit about blue tits is that when a garden can be seen to have four or five at any one moment, it's likely that, in total, there are over 20 blue tits coming to that garden! They're a particularly social bird, just like any other British tit, which means that any spot they like to frequent is often a popular area for other birds.

Blue Tit habitats

Blue tits love to make themselves comfortable in small and cozy spots and believe it or not, blue tits live just about anywhere they can fit...literally. In the past, blue tit nests have been found on the sides of buildings, inside street lamps, and even in bins.

The birds like to nest anywhere where they are protected from other predators, including other birds.

Known for following the food, blue tits can often be found year-round in woodland, parks, and gardens across the UK,with the exception of some Scottish islands.

Blue Tit Lifespan

The average life span for a blue tit is three years. However, one blue tit that was monitored from bird ringing lived for an impressive 10 years.

Unfortunately, almost two-thirds of blue tits don't survive the first year of life due to a lack of food or predators.

As cyanistes caeruleus, as they're known scientifically, is a wonderful garden bird, they're cared for a little better than some other birds. A colourful mix of feathers across their body means that they're encouraged by most birdwatchers, and a good blend of seeds and nuts will allow a small population to live well.

What we're trying to say, there, is that the cyanistes caeruleus, or blue tit, doesn't suffer from a shortened lifespan as much as some other birds can. Instead, they're cared for relatively well!

Blue Tit Breeding

Breeding season for blue tits starts in March when male blue tits and their chosen female blue tit begin looking for a nest box or suitable spot to build their nest and raise their young birds.

Once the pair are happily set in their nest, the female blue tit will lay an average of 10 eggs from late April until early June. Some female blue tits have been known to lay as many as 19 eggs in the past. The pair will only raise one brood per year so it's important they look after the baby birds as best as possible.

Once the eggs have been incubated for an average of 15-16 days by the mum, whilst the dad goes to get food to keep her nourished, the eggs will begin to hatch. Once hatched, the young blue tits are welcomed into the world and looked after by both parents in the nest for approximately three weeks before the blue tits start fledging.

Blue Tits Nest Boxes

Blue tit nest boxes provide the perfect spot of protection and a safe space for breeding for blue tits. The nest box can either be purchased or you could even make a nesting box yourself.

The important thing to remember when choosing, or building, your nest box is to ensure that it's built with a thick wood that provides insulation for the British tit in the unpredictable UK warm or cold weather.

For garden bird boxes, blue tits are common and can often be found nest building inside the boxes, bringing nesting material including grass, moss and other soft materials including feathers to make the space comfortable.

If you are adding a nest box to your garden, ensure it is placed high enough to protect blue tit from predators and is in a space that is shielding from the wind too.

We would suggest opting to place a nest box up the trunk of a tree. This is a good option as Eurasian blue tits naturally spend quite a lot of time in trees in the wild, so allowing a small nest box to sit in the tree, and acquire the scent of the wood, will be more appealing to the feathered friends.

These birds are particularly small, even compared to other garden birds, which means that they're used to being a little scared, and flying away from danger. To be sure that they're happy, ensure that the box is well protected from predators and the elements.

What do Blue Tits eat?

The blue tit loves to eat natural food including insects and spiders however with many other birds including other tits competing for these insects, the small species are always grateful for a helping hand when it comes to food.

Blue tits especially need a helping hand in the winder in order to help protect blue tit numbers. Blue tits love to eat fat balls and seeds such as sunflower hearts.

Blue Tit Predators

A blue tit's main predator is a sparrow hawk however they can also become prey for squirrels, rats, weasels, stoats, and even cats. This is another reason that blue tits like to nestle away in a small gap with an even smaller opening - for protection!

The best way for a blue tit to protect itself is to stay away from its predators - they aren't aggressive birds, by any means, which means that they win fights by not engaging in them.

That is the reason we recommend placing a bird box high in a tree since that will be far away from ground predators. As well as that, the leaves and other foliage around a box will provide cover from aerial predators, too.

How to attract Blue Tits into your garden

If you'd like to hear the beautiful calls of the blue tits sound, then you're in luck. Blue tits are known as garden birds, and when food is on offer you can expect plenty of visits and perhaps even a blue tits nest or two in your garden.

Installing garden bird feeders full of delicious and nutritious treats including blue tit bird seeds and suet balls, you'll attract family flocks of the bird to your garden in no time. Remember to place the bird feeders up high to help protect the birds from predators roaming the ground.

Three facts about blue tits

1. There are over 3 million breeding pairs of blue tits in the UK.

2. The average blue tit is just 12cm in length with a wingspan of 18cm, weighing 11g.

3. The blue tit is classified in the UK as Green under the Birds of Conservation Concern.