Appearance
The note of this bird lies in the bright yellow color of the abdomen with a characteristic black strip in the middle resembling a tie. Black head plumage, which contrasts with white cheeks and olive-greened back. The color of the tail and wings has a bluish tint.
The bird has a small, slightly flattened on the sides, beam. There are sharp claws on the paws. The body size of this representative is slightly larger than that of sparrows. Thanks to its dimensions, the bird received the nickname “Big”. Body length reaches 20 centimeters with weighing up to 20 grams.
Belong large tits to the detachment of sparrows and the family family. Sexual dimorphism is very weak. The female can be distinguished by a dull plumage and a grayish shade of the chest and head. However, the color of the tits can vary depending on their habitat.
Habitat
The population of a large title spread throughout Eurasia and North-West Africa. This representative can be found in forests, gardens, parks and spacious open areas. Love to populate the edges of deciduous forests. Birds do not against the territory next to people. They move to cities with the onset of winter, due to difficulties in eating in the wild.
Food
Big tits prefer to eat caterpillars in the warm period. This is one of the rare representatives that can easily cope with the hairs of caterpillars, which are saturated with a dangerous poisonous substance (list of poisonous caterpillars). In order to safely eat caterpillars, large tits clamp it with its paw and make a small side hole with their beak, and then suck through all the insides of the victim through it.
It is noteworthy that some large tits got rid of cursing bottles of milk in the hungry period. In cities, birds do not disdain food that they put in feeders. For example, they easily cope with lard and ice cream meat.
These representatives themselves are absolutely omnivorous. Various beetles, spiders, eggs and flies may include their diet. From plants, large tits of hunting consume berries and fruits of plants.
Lifestyle
Big tits are not by nature migratory birds, but they are forced to move to the cities to survive the winter. They themselves are extremely restless and constantly move from branch to branch. Moves between the trees jumping. In the late spring of the towstone, they seek for their own food on deciduous trees, and in the fall move to coniferous forests. The voice of a big tit is noteworthy, similar to the ringing of a bell. In total, there are up to 40 variations of the sound of a large title. They can also combine sounds in one song slightly changing the timbre of the voice.
Listen to the voice of a big tit
In winter, they are collected in small packs to warm up.
Reproduction
The marriage period of large tits begins in early spring. During this period, the female is actively looking for a nest for her future offspring. As a rule, they choose hollows of trees up to 5 meters high from the ground. The bottom of the hollow is lined with pieces of animal wool and moss. The withdrawal of chicks takes place twice a year. The first brood appears since the end of April, and the second falls in June. As a rule, the female puts off no more than 12 eggs. White eggs themselves with red specks and shiny tint in themselves. During the period of hatching, the male is actively looking for food for two.
The chicks of a big tit
As a rule, the incubation period lasts no more than two weeks. With the advent of chicks, the female is inseparable next to them for three days. Then she and the male go out in search of food for herself and her offspring.
The chicks are strong for 20 days, after which they select from the nest. Already stronger big tits learn to fly.
A week later, young chicks are ready to live on their own, but they can still live next to the territory of the parents who periodically feed them. At the end of summer, small family flocks are formed, which are connected to other types of tits.
Some flocks form up to 50 individuals. Together they make flights in search of food. During the winter, most of the population of large tits head to the south, and some individuals are looking for the nearest populated territories.
