When the tits fly away in the spring. tits

Who is not familiar with such an interesting and beautiful bird as tit? Probably, such birds simply do not exist among people because this is exactly the kind of bird that is everywhere.

Tits in the sky They are among the first to notify us that winter is receding and spring is coming to replace it. The original sounds, which are especially audible at this time, last a long time and are annoying.

They are not much different from the sounds of an anvil. Not everyone knows what this peculiar singing means. It turns out that it is the male who bursts into song in the hope of meeting his betrothed.

Many people are accustomed to having these birds constantly with them and in front of their eyes. Almost no one experiences this anymore big tits interest, but in vain. In fact, this is a rather original and interesting bird.

These birds with white cheeks, a yellow breast with a black stripe divided in the middle, appear in the vicinity of cities and villages with the arrival of the first autumn frosts. They never lead a reclusive life.

They need to be everywhere and know everything. This very curious creature scurries around everywhere, screams between the trees. In their behavior, titmice resemble children. They are very attentive.

Their eyes and ears catch literally everything. Their ringing voice can be heard from afar. They feel in advance what the winter will be like. The more tits arrive in the fall, the stronger the cold you should expect.

Great tit so called because it is one of the largest birds in Europe. The length of her body does not exceed 180 mm. And the bird weighs about 25 g. The birds have a strong, although inconspicuous, cone-shaped beak.

Her plumage is even tit photo unrealistically colorful and beautiful. The abdomen is colored yellow, and in the middle it has a black tie. The head also has an unusually beautiful black plumage with a blue tint.

The tit's cheeks are white. The back of the head is decorated with a yellow-white spot. The color of the back is dominated by olive, green, gray, and blue. Thanks to such a bright and rich color scheme, the titmouse stands out very much in the white winter landscape.

On small, barely noticeable nostrils, bristle-like feathers are observed. Birds' feet are small. But it is only at first glance that they seem fragile and weak. They have fairly strong fingers and sharp, curved claws.

With the help of its legs, a tit can easily stay on a tree even with strong gusts of wind. The tit's wings are short and rounded at the ends. It is interesting to know that as tits age, their plumage becomes even much brighter. There are no significant differences between males and females.

Many people often wonder - Is the tit a migratory bird or not? And despite the fact that she is most often next to us, not everyone knows the correct answer.

In fact, the tit leads a sedentary lifestyle. Only need, the onset of severe cold and hunger force this bird to change its place of residence. This happens only for the purpose of self-preservation.

Great tit

Already in February, as soon as the first harbingers of spring begin to be felt, titmouses notify us with their wonderful mood. Titmouse singing, If you compare it with something, it most closely resembles the sound of bells.

It is gentle, long-lasting and joyful because another brutal winter is behind us. With the arrival of warmer weather, the songs of the tits subside somewhat and are lost in the multitude of all other summer sounds.

Character and lifestyle

It is very difficult for this naughty girl to sit in one place. She is in constant motion. Tits are unpretentious creatures. This is a flock of birds that does not know what loneliness is.

They are not lacking in dexterity and curiosity. They are able to do what their brothers absolutely cannot. For example, their well-known somersaults on some surface. This trick is achieved by a tit with the help of its strong and tenacious legs.

These same paws help her survive if her nest is far away. The tit simply attaches itself to the branch with its claws and falls asleep. At such moments, she resembles a small fluffy ball. This ability saves the bird from severe cold.

Each species tits only those characteristic of them are observed peculiarities. But they are all united by beautiful plumage, mischievous behavior and exciting singing. It’s a pity that in difficult weather conditions, not all birds manage to survive until spring and are the first to notify us about it. Some of them cannot withstand severe frosts.

Tits are real orderlies of nature. They destroy harmful insects and thus save green spaces. For example, one family of tits clears more than 40 trees of pests in order to feed their offspring.

The tit is not always good-natured and cheerful. During the breeding season, they become evil, soulless and cruel creatures when it comes to their offspring. They defend their territories with zeal and fearlessness.

Molting in birds occurs once a year. In order to build a nest, tits find holes in trees or abandoned hollows of other birds or animals. Most often they settle in abandoned woodpecker dwellings. Not all, but there are some tit species who are not lazy and with their labors hollow out a hole for the nest.

The couple works together to insulate their home. Only their responsibilities are slightly divided. Usually the female brings light feathers or wool to the new nest, and the male brings heavier building material - moss or lichen.

Nutrition

The main diet of tits are insects. Due to their unpretentiousness, they do not refuse plant foods. Favorite delicacy is fir and pine cones.

There are species of tits that enjoy chiseling the bark of a tree and pulling out larvae and others from under it. Often, looking at such a picture, you might think that this is a woodpecker that has changed its image.

They love birds, bugs, caterpillars, and eggs. Those who live near people do not refuse cottage cheese, bread crumbs, cereals, meat pieces, lard, berries and fruits. They don't stock food. But with great pleasure they can rob their brothers.

Muscovites, puffweeds, and nuthatches are often attacked by them. In the winter season, tits stay longer in places where there is enough food. They can visit the feeder throughout the winter and never fly far from it.

Tit chick

Why is it so useful to create bird feeders in winter? This saves many tits, which in turn save green spaces. There are suggestions that in one day an adult tit eats as many insects as it weighs.

Reproduction and lifespan

In flocks of birds, pairs of tits form, which, after building a nest, begin to think about offspring. During this period, they turn from merry fellows into serious and aggressive birds.

Mother tit is waiting for the chicks to appear

They now need to take care not only of themselves, but also of their future offspring. Typically there are about 15 spotted eggs in a clutch. The eggs of tits are also easy to distinguish from the eggs of others. They are sprinkled with red dots, which form a kind of ring at the blunt end of the egg.

Egg laying occurs twice a year. The first time occurs at the end of April, the second is closer to mid-summer. It takes 13 days to hatch the eggs. Only the female deals with this issue. Her partner at this time makes sure that she does not go hungry.

After the birth of completely helpless chicks, the female does not leave the nest for another couple of days, warming her babies. All this time, the male selflessly takes care of his family, brings them food and protects them from enemies.

The chicks need 16 days to fully fledge, fly and prepare for independent life. And by 10 months the chicks are ready to reproduce on their own. Tits live for about 15 years.

I think everyone knows what the Great Tit or Bolshak looks like, the Latin name is Parus major. Along with the dove, sparrow, jackdaw and crow, tits are the most common feathered inhabitants of cities and other populated areas. This is the largest bird of the tit family, it belongs to the order Passeriformes, the genus Tit and forms a separate species.

Habitats of the Great Tit

This is a sedentary bird; only in severe frosts, when there is an acute lack of food, can it change its habitat. Typically, migration involves moving closer to human habitation. Widely distributed throughout Europe with the exception of the far north and Iceland, found in North Africa and the Middle East. In Southeast Asia, it lives in Japan and throughout Indochina up to the island of Java and the island of Borneo. You will not find the great tit in the north of Siberia, among continuous coniferous forests and in the highlands. The great tit is not afraid of people, actively inhabits city squares and parks, happily flies to feeders and even pecks food from a human hand.

Appearance of Great Tit

This is the largest bird of all tits found in Russia. A little larger and much larger or Gaichki. Its length is from 13 to 17 centimeters, its weight is about 20 grams, its wingspan is 22–26 centimeters, and its tail is long. In other words, the Great Tit is the size of a sparrow, but it is impossible to confuse them due to the bright plumage of tits.

The Great Tit has a bright yellow or lemon belly with a black longitudinal stripe in the middle called a tie. The tie on the abdomen in males widens towards the bottom, and in females it narrows. This is one of the few differences between males and females of the Great Tit; in addition, the females have a more faded color. On the head there is a blue-black cap with a metallic tint, and on the back of the head there is a yellowish-white spot. The cheeks are white, there is a black ring around the neck. The throat and chest are black with a slight bluish tint. The back is yellowish-green, turning into bluish-gray on the loin and rump, with a faint olive tint on the shoulders. The wings and tail are bluish, and a thin white stripe can be seen on the wings. The tail is long.

Songs of the Great Tit

Great tits are songbirds. Males that conquer a mate sing more variedly than females and do this almost all year, except for the winter months. There are about 40 different sounds made by tits. Particularly prominent are the sonorous ones: “qi-qi-qi-pi”, “in-chi-in-chi”, the cry - “pin-pin-chrrrrzh”. In spring the song is more monotonous: “zin-zi-ver”, “zin-zin”. Great tits sing especially intensely during the breeding season: from March to the second half of May and from the second half of June to the end of July. Autumn singing begins in August, intensifies in mid-September and stops in the first ten days of October. In addition to the actual singing, tits perform the so-called sub-song - a melodic quiet chirping, “purring”, sounding most often in February or March.

Lifestyle

The great tit prefers deciduous and mixed forests. Lives in open areas along rivers and lake shores, on forest edges and in woodlands. In Siberia it does not settle further than 10-15 kilometers from human habitation. It prefers to feed on tree branches and bushes and is reluctant to descend to the ground. In winter, tits move en masse closer to humans.

In cities, parks, squares and gardens are perfect for her. The destruction by humans of large tracts of forest and the increase in open forests has led to an increase in the number of these birds.

Typically, Great Tits live in flocks, breaking up into pairs only for the period of nesting and breeding. These are, as a rule, monogamous birds; cases of polygamy are rare. Pairs last for several years

The nesting period of the Great Tit depends on the area where it lives. In the south of Russia, males begin their courtship at the end of February, and in the center of the country about two weeks later. The breeding season lasts until the end of September. During the period of pair formation and nesting, males become aggressive towards competitors.

Great tits build their nests in tree hollows at a height of 2-5 meters from the ground. They can also invade other people's nests if there is not enough space in the trees; they use any shelter, titmice, birdhouses, mouse holes and cracks in rocks. Near human habitation, the great tit can build nests in the most unexpected places. Nests of these birds have been found in drainpipes, in street light poles, in hollow metal pipes of fences, in mailboxes, behind the siding of building walls, and even in the barrel of a gun, most importantly in an enclosed space. Cases when Great Tits equip open nests are extremely rare.

The construction of the nest is carried out by females; males do not participate in the process. The size of the nest depends on the place where it was built, but its internal structure is always the same. Inside the recess, the female makes a small tray, 5-6 cm in circumference. Its depth can be 4-5 cm. The tray is lined with small twigs, leaves, moss, cobwebs, fluff and animal hair.

Reproduction of the Great Tit

Great tits usually lay two clutches: at the end of April and in mid-summer. In the first clutch there are up to 15 white, slightly shiny eggs, but more often 8 - 12. The entire surface of the eggs is covered with reddish-brown spots and specks, forming a corolla on the blunt side. The second clutch is usually 2 fewer eggs. The tit incubates eggs for 12-14 days. During this time, the male provides food for the female. The tit flies from the nest only when danger approaches. For the first two or three days, the hatched chicks are covered with grayish down, so the female does not leave the nest, warming them with her warmth. The male at this time acts as the breadwinner. When the chicks begin to become feathered, the pair feeds the offspring, bringing an average of 6-7 g of food per chick per day to the nest.

The chicks fly from the nest approximately on the 22nd day after birth. After leaving, they stay in a flock near the nest, and their parents continue to feed them for one or two weeks. If the female begins a second clutch, the male leads the first brood.

In summer, Great Tits feed mainly on insects; midges, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, caterpillars, and crickets are their food. The chicks are fed the most high-calorie insects, namely caterpillars. With the onset of winter cold, tits switch to plant foods. They feed mainly on seeds and cereals. These birds do not store for the winter and if they find food hidden by other bird species, they eat it with pleasure. Tits do not disdain carrion.

You will learn where tits live in the summer from this article. Have you noticed that titmice, which flutter from branch to branch in winter, disappear somewhere when it gets warmer? One might think that they are migratory birds, but this is not the case at all. So why aren’t tits visible in the summer? Where do they go?

It’s worth clearing right away that The usual habitat for these cute birds is forests. And their appearance in the city with the onset of cold weather is a necessary measure. It's warmer here and there's food.

Where do tits fly to in the summer?

With the arrival of spring, tits return to the forests to breed. It is interesting that, unlike other birds, tits do not build nests. They settle in tree hollows. Sometimes birds hollow out a hollow for themselves. And others are occupied by the “creations” of woodpeckers. This is the answer to the question of where titmouses fly from cities for the summer. Into the forests. There are a lot of trees here, which means that finding a home for the chicks will not be a difficult task.

One clutch usually hatches 10–14 chicks. They grow quite quickly and fly out of the nest within a month after hatching. Until late autumn, the chicks live with their parents, and then fly with them to the city for the winter.

In winter in our country you can often see small birds with very beautiful plumage. Who are we talking about? Of course, about titmice. These representatives of the passerine order are frequent guests of feeders. Tits belong to the tit family, there are approximately 100 species in the world. The best known and best studied are the great tit, the Indian tit, the gray tit and the eastern tit.

By what external signs can titmouses be recognized?

The body length of the birds is approximately 10 - 16 centimeters, one bird weighs 8 - 20 grams. The wings of these small flyers are short and round in shape. The plumage has a smooth structure; sometimes there are titmice whose heads are decorated with a funny crest. The paws are small, but quite tenacious.

The color of feathers is very diverse, each individual species has its own shades of plumage, however, we can name the colors that are most often found in the color of these birds: white, brown, gray, yellow, blue, black and some others.

Where do titmouses live?

The northern hemisphere is considered the exclusive habitat of these birds. They are found on the continents of Eurasia, North America and Africa.

Natural areas of residence, lifestyle and behavior of tits

The preferred natural habitats for tits are forest-tundra, tugai forests, jungles and mountainous areas, where they are found up to an altitude of 2 - 3 thousand meters.

Tits' lifestyle is predominantly sedentary, although some species periodically migrate.

These small birds lead a very active life. In the summer months they prefer to live and hunt alone, but in winter they gather in small flocks (10-15 individuals). The birds communicate with each other by “squeaky” chirping, vaguely reminiscent of the sounds “blue-blue-blue”, which is how they got their name - “tits”.

Titmouse diet

Depending on the season, the diet of these birds is constantly changing: in the summer and spring months, tits eat insects (caterpillars, beetles, flies) and spiders; closer to autumn, ripe seeds and berries of fruit trees become their main food. Many representatives of these birds prepare supplies for the winter. In addition, with the arrival of winter, tits, going in search of food, collect cone seeds and eat them. It is not uncommon for these birds, having once tasted food from the feeder, to become regular guests of these human inventions. Every day they fly up and see if a new portion of delicious grains is waiting for them there?

Breeding offspring

The breeding season of tits occurs 2–3 times a year. Starting from February - March, in the places where these birds live, ringing mating trills are heard. Usually a pair is created and lasts for several years, because tits are monogamous birds. Tits make their nests for breeding offspring in secluded places, hidden from prying eyes.

Often one female tit lays three to eight eggs. She incubates the chicks for almost 2 weeks (from 11 to 14 days). When the babies are born, the caring mother does not leave the nest at all for the first few days of their life. The young brood stays together for the first time after leaving the nest. Tit chicks become fully adult at the ninth to tenth month of age.

In the wild, these representatives of the passerine order live no more than three years.

Natural enemies of tits

In nature, tits are hunted by martens, wild forest cats, and owls. But a very large number of these birds die from lack of food during the cold winter months.

The bright spots of bird plumage become especially visible against a white background.

The most frequent guests of city blocks at this time are tits - small passerine birds, whose distinctive feature is lemon-yellow plumage on the chest and abdomen. Slightly less common are bullfinches, which can be easily recognized by the bright crimson color of their breasts. Both birds constantly catch our eye in the winter, but with the onset of heat they disappear somewhere. Where do bullfinches and tits live in the summer? Perhaps they fly away to colder regions?

Bullfinch - a bright bird

In winter, bullfinches sitting on branches look like ripe apples, miraculously not picked off by the autumn winds. The bright crimson plumage on the chest can be seen from afar; thanks to its characteristic coloring, this bird is difficult to confuse with other passerine species. You should know that only males have expressive breast colors, and for females nature has assigned a simple brownish “dress.”

Russian bullfinches prefer to live where coniferous forests grow, because the main dish of their winter diet is seeds, which they peck from cones with their strong beaks. However, they do not neglect other types of seeds - maple, alder, ash, etc. Bright birds love to peck elderberry or rowan berries, and they eat mainly the seeds and drop the pulp on the ground.

If bullfinches have gotten into the habit of flying into your yard, you can easily determine this by the characteristic remains of berries under the mountain ash or elderberry. In summer, they also readily feed on the seeds of wild herbs - quinoa, horse sorrel, burdock, etc.

How does the little titmouse live?

Tits are actually very small: their weight is only 15-23 grams. In order not to freeze in winter, they must constantly find and eat berries and seeds, and if they are lucky, they must peck insects that have climbed there for the winter from under the bark.


They devote almost all their time to searching for food. This is one of the most common birds in Europe, living wherever trees or shrubs grow - in gardens, forests, parks and even on not too noisy city streets.

Ornithologists count more than sixty species of tits, which differ from each other in size, plumage color and lifestyle. In our country, the most common tits are great tits, puffy tits, Muscovites and marsh tits. These birds can be found almost everywhere, from Krasnodar and Crimea to the Far East and the polar regions.

In the southern regions, they lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle, while northern tits, with the onset of cold weather, prefer to migrate to warmer and more favorable regions.

Why can bullfinches and tits only be seen in winter?

Small representatives of the passerine order are forced to devote almost all their time to searching for food. In summer, the task of obtaining food is not difficult to solve, since edible insects and seeds are found literally at every step. In winter, it becomes more difficult to live in forests and gardens, so birds move closer to human habitation. It’s easier to find food here, since people constantly throw away bread cores and hang bird feeders, and it’s not so difficult to find a warm place to sleep somewhere under a roof.

At the end of the winter cold, when the earth begins to wake up and various bugs and spiders crawl to the surface, tits and bullfinches migrate from cities closer to nature - to nearby forests, gardens and parks. There, among the green foliage, in secluded places, they build nests, incubate the laid eggs, and then take care of the offspring.


Only an attentive observer will be able to notice a small tit or a nimble bullfinch in the dense branches. That is why it seems to us that in the summer birds fly away somewhere from our region, although in fact they are just changing their habitat.