Great tit
Parus major Linnaeus, 1758
The great tit (Parus major) is a bird in the family Paridae and order Passeriformes, placed in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup. It is a small, sedentary, perching bird of woodland, with an adult body mass of 16.25 g and a wingspan of 23 cm.
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Quick facts about the great tit
Its diet category is invertivore, and its trophic level is omnivore. Clutches hold 8.6 eggs with an incubation period of 13.5 days, sexual maturity comes at 1 year, and the species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 16.3 g – 19.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 23 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 15.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7.7 – 8.6src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the great tit?
Photos of the great tit
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the great tit live?
Not recorded
What is the great tit?
The great tit (Parus major) is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is widespread and common throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and as far east as the Amur River. It also occurs in parts of North Africa where it is generally resident in any sort of woodland. Most great tits do not migrate, except in extremely harsh winters. Until 2005 this species was lumped with numerous other subspecies. However, DNA studies have revealed that these subspecies are distinct from the great tit, and they have now been classified as two distinct species, the cinereous tit (Parus cinereus) of southern Asia, and the Japanese tit (Parus minor) of East Asia. The great tit remains the most widespread species in the genus Parus.
The great tit is a distinctive bird with a black head and neck, prominent white cheeks, olive-coloured upperparts and yellow underparts. There is some variation amongst the numerous subspecies. Predominantly insectivorous in the summer, the species consumes a wider range of food items in the winter months, including small hibernating bats. Like all tits, it is a cavity nester, usually nesting in a tree hole. The female lays around 12 eggs and incubates them alone, although both parents raise the chicks. In most years, the pair will raise two broods. However, the nests may be raided by woodpeckers, squirrels and weasels and may become infested with fleas, and adults may be hunted by sparrowhawks. The great tit has adapted well to human-induced environmental changes and is a common and familiar bird in urban parks and gardens. The great tit is also an important study species in ornithology.
From the Wikipedia article “Great tit” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_tit&oldid=1383144209), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the great tit sound like?
Is the great tit endangered?
The great tit is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the great tit classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyParidae
- genusParus
- SpeciesParus major Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Parus hortensis, Parus major kansuensis, Parus viridis
Other names and names in other languages (158)
- GRTIEnglish
- Northern great titEnglish
- Turkestan titEnglish
- SpicmāseOld English
- سەرڕەشەArabic
- الغراب الزيتونيArabic
- قرقف كبيرArabic
- Chinchipera granAragonese
- İri arıquşAzerbaijani
- SoogschneiderBavarian
- Вялікая сініцаBelarusian
- Вялiкая сiнiцаBelarusian
- Голям синигерBulgarian
- PennglaouBreton
- Pennglaou boutinBreton
- FerrericoCatalan
- mallarengaCatalan
- mallerenga carboneraCatalan
- КӹсиӓMari
- Пысӑк кӑсӑяChuvash
- Пысăк кăсăяChuvash
- Ciattola capiniellaCorsican
- sýkora koňadraCzech
- CzibabaKashubian
- titw mawrWelsh
- Titwod MawrWelsh
- MusvitDanish
- FinkmeiseGerman
- BrandmeiseGerman
- GrasmeiseGerman
- Große KohlmeiseGerman
- Große Schwarze MeiseGerman
- Große WaldmeiseGerman
- GroßmeiseGerman
- KohlmeiseGerman
- MeisenfinkGerman
- PickmeiseGerman
- PinkmeiseGerman
- SchinkenmeiseGerman
- SchwarzmeiseGerman
- SpeckmeiseGerman
- SpiegelmeiseGerman
- TalghackerGerman
- TalgmeiseGerman
- TalgmöskeGerman
- ΚαλόγεροςGreek
- granda paruoEsperanto
- Carbonero comúnSpanish
- rasvatihaneEstonian
- Kaskabeltz handiBasque
- Kaskabeltz handiaBasque
- Kaskabetz handiaBasque
- چرخ ریسک بزرگPersian
- talitiainenFinnish
- stórtitaFaroese
- stórtítaFaroese
- Mésange charbonnièreFrench
- TualagbitjerNorthern Frisian
- BlokmiesWestern Frisian
- Meantán mórIrish
- Meantán TurcastánachIrish
- Currac baintighearnaScottish Gaelic
- currac-baintighearnaScottish Gaelic
- curraicean-baintighearnaScottish Gaelic
- Ferreiriño realGalician
- Ferreiriño abelleiroGalician
- Myntan mooarManx
- ירגזי מצויHebrew
- velika sjenicaCroatian
- széncinegeHungarian
- Երաշտահավ մեծArmenian
- Մեծ երաշտահավArmenian
- Gelatik batuIndonesian
- Gelatik-Batu KelabuIndonesian
- FlotmeisaIcelandic
- CinciallegraItalian
- シジュウカラ科Japanese
- ヨーロッパシジュウカラJapanese
- シジュウカラ(旧名)Japanese
- кев путың сиськиkca
- Сарыбауыр шымшықKazakh
- 유럽박새Korean
- 노랑배박새Korean
- tijainiKarelian
- Penglow brasCornish
- SchielmeesLuxembourgish
- BiejemeisLimburgish
- didžioji zylėLithuanian
- Leluo zeileLatgalian
- lielā zīlīteLatvian
- пичежиMoksha
- писькоцюMoksha
- пустатейMoksha
- ситявняMoksha
- сятявняMoksha
- кисаMari
- голема сипкаMacedonian
- राखी बल्गुलीMarathi
- SpeckmeesLow German
- koolmeesDutch
- KjøtmeisNorwegian Nynorsk
- kjøttmeisNorwegian
- SarralhièrOccitan
- MbezinguePicard
- bogatka (zwyczajna)Polish
- BogatkaPolish
- Sikora bogatkaPolish
- Balarin-aPiedmontese
- chapim-realPortuguese
- Piţigoi mareRomanian
- Pițigoi mareRomanian
- синикRussian
- большакRussian
- вербичкаRussian
- зелентайкаRussian
- зеленчикRussian
- зимушкаRussian
- кузнецRussian
- мясничокRussian
- сальнюшкаRussian
- сингирёкRussian
- синечкаRussian
- синиголкаRussian
- слепушкаRussian
- снопырьRussian
- старчикRussian
- Большая синицаRussian
- жёлтый слепухRussian
- Улахан чычып-чаапYakut
- BuoidegaccetNorthern Sami
- buoidecizášNorthern Sami
- fiskesgaccebiehtárNorthern Sami
- fiskesgaccetNorthern Sami
- sýkorka veľkáSlovak
- velika sinicaSlovenian
- çinerAlbanian
- pinerAlbanian
- rrezatorja e madheAlbanian
- treckaAlbanian
- trecklaAlbanian
- trishtili i madhAlbanian
- zog koreshAlbanian
- zog me mësallëAlbanian
- Velika senicaSerbian
- Велика сеницаSerbian
- talgoxeSwedish
- büyük baştankaraTurkish
- Бадӟым пислэгUdmurt
- Велика синицяUkrainian
- синиця великаUkrainian
- SperónzolaVenetian
- tijaineVeps
- tijäineVeps
- Bạc máVietnamese
- Comême vergueWest Flemish
- SissideuWalloon
- 大山雀Chinese
- 欧亚大山雀Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the great tit
Other species in the same genus Parus.
CompareGreat tit vs Green-backed titGreat tit vs Asian titGreat tit vs Parus alpinusGreat tit vs Parus peregrinus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is a great tit?
The great tit has an adult body mass of 16.25 g, with values up to 19.05 g reported. Its wingspan is 23 cm.
What does the great tit eat?
The great tit is in the invertivore diet category, and its trophic level is omnivore.
Is the great tit endangered?
No. The great tit is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the global IUCN Red List assessment, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a great tit live?
The great tit has a lifespan of 15.2 years, with values up to 15.42 years reported.
How many eggs does a great tit lay?
The great tit lays 8.6 eggs per clutch and has 1.5 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 13.5 days.
What kind of animal is the great tit?
The great tit is a bird in the family Paridae, part of the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup.
Who named the great tit?
The great tit, Parus major, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
What are other names for the great tit?
Other English names for the great tit are Turkestan tit and Northern great tit.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Great tit (Parus major). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-tit
“Great tit (Parus major).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-tit.
@misc{great_tit_2026,
title = {Great tit (Parus major)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-tit},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}