Birds of Ireland: Blue tit

Blue tits are a common breeding species found here all year round on woodland, farmland and in gardens.  Picture: iStock

Birds of Ireland: Blue tit | Meantán gorm | Cyanistes caeruleus

A blue tit is about 11-12 centimetres long with a wingspan of 18 centimetres. They are a common breeding species found here all year round on woodland, farmland and in gardens. 

Blue tits are smaller than robins and both sexes appear similar. 

An adult blue tit has a pale blue cap surrounded by a white halo; they have white ear coverts, a dark eye stripe, a green-blue back and their wings are blue with a faint white wing bar. A blue tit's nape is dark blue and their breast and belly are yellow. 

Juvenile and immature blue tits have a similar pattern to adults but are paler and more yellow in their overall colour. 

In flight a blue tit's pale blue upperparts are visible. There is no white visible on their tail and they have a bouncing flight with rapid wingbeats. 

Like most members of the tit family a blue tit is very vocal and has various call notes. The most characteristic are a very high pfit-pfit-che-ha-ah-ah and a lower, scolding churr.

Tip of the week

Tits are one of the most familiar groups of birds in Ireland as most come into gardens and readily take food from bird tables and peanut feeders. Most are insect eaters during the breeding season and like to build their nests in cavities, such as holes in walls and trees, and nest boxes. Most are not migratory and rarely travel very far from where they were born.

A blue tit enters a hole in a tree on the Dodder River in Dublin during nesting season. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Featured in Birds of Ireland: A field guide by Jim Wilson, with photographs by Mark Carmody

• Jim Wilson is a wildlife writer, broadcaster, tour leader, and former chairman of BirdWatch Ireland. He has been involved in the study and conservation of birds in Ireland for more than 45 years, contributing to several major surveys and international projects.
• Mark Carmody is an award-winning wildlife photographer, has a PhD in biochemistry and works as a European patent attorney.