Crested tit (12 x 4 cm)

Description

The crested tit is a common breeding bird in Denmark, and it prefers to live in coniferous forests. It is found in large parts of Europe too.

The crested tit is 10,5-12 cm, and it weighs 10-13 grams. It is easy to recognize because of its black and white speckled top, the black bib and the black circle around the head and the ears. The male and the female crested tit are identical. It usually lives for 3 years, but it can actually live up till 11 years.

The crested tit is heavily dependent on old trees to cut out holes for the nests. It lives on insects, spiders and seeds, which are hoarded already in the autumn. The crested tit hides the food in the bark of the trees on its territory in order to survive on the same territory all winter. The crested tit is an extremely immovable sedentary bird – it resides in the same territory all the year round.

During April and May the female crested tit lays eggs, and it is also she who is responsible for cutting out the nest hole, building the nest and hatching out the eggs all by herself.