Profile
In flight
Songbirds
Eurasian Blue Tit
Cyanistes caeruleus
- rare
- 55 km/h
- Least Concern
The pirate of the garden feeder. Famous for learning to peck open foil milk bottle caps across Britain.
- Population
- Roughly 63–100 million mature individuals globally; stable (Europe holds ~95% of global range/population)
- Habitat
- Deciduous and mixed broadleaf woodland (especially oak and birch, avoiding large conifer stands), plus coppices, parks, gardens, hedgerows, and urban/suburban areas with nest cavities
- Fun fact
- Eurasian Blue Tits have ultraviolet-reflective crown feathers, invisible to humans, that they use to judge potential mates' quality and distinguish sex/age of other individuals.
- Range
- Resident across most of temperate and subarctic Europe and parts of western Asia — from Ireland and Britain through continental Europe (Scandinavia to the Mediterranean), east to the northern Urals/Kazakhstan, and south into the Middle East (e.g., Iran); extent of occurrence ~16.6 million km²
- Diet
- Mainly insects and spiders (caterpillars, aphids, moths, springtails) during the breeding season, supplemented with seeds, nuts, berries, and other plant matter (notably sunflower seeds) outside the breeding season; regularly visits garden bird feeders
- Size
- 0.115 m
- Wingspan
- 0.19 m
- Lifespan
- 11 years
