Mary Allen
Tits are a family of animals. They are songbirds. They live throughout Europe, North America, much of Asia, and southern Africa. Here in Europe, they are among the most common songbirds. There are 51 species worldwide. 14 species live in Europe, and in Switzerland only five. It is therefore very important whether the tits can become friends with a certain area.
Tits are small birds. From the head to the base of the tail feathers, they only come a little over ten centimeters. They are also very light, around 10 to 20 grams. So it takes about five to ten tits to weigh a bar of chocolate.
How do tits live?
Tits like trees. Some species of tit can even climb really well, for example, the blue tit. They also find a large part of their food in the trees. Mainly there are insects and larvae as well as seeds. Depending on the species of tit, they tend to eat one or the other. But they also like to help themselves to what people offer them to eat.
Most tit species live in the same place all year round. But some are migratory birds. To incubate their eggs, they usually look for an empty cavity, for example, a woodpecker’s. They then pad them according to their own taste. This is where they lay their eggs and incubate them.
Tits have many enemies. Martens, squirrels, and domestic cats like to eat eggs or young birds. But also birds of prey like the sparrow hawk or the kestrel often strike. Many young birds die in the first year. Even of those that can already fly, only one in four will breed themselves in the next year.
Humans also attack the tits. More and more suitable fruit trees are disappearing from the landscape. However, many people also help the tits by putting up brooders and removing the nests each winter so the tits can repopulate the brooders. You can also support the tits with suitable food. So they are not threatened.
What are the most important tit species in our country?
In Europe, the great tit is one of the most common bird species. In Switzerland, it is the most common species of tit. There are about half a million of her animals. They usually always stay in the same place. Only the tits from the north migrate further south in winter. Tits breed once or twice each summer. Each time the female lays 6 to 12 eggs. It needs to incubate the eggs for about two weeks. Because she didn’t lay all the eggs at the same time, they don’t hatch at the same time.
The blue tit is the second most common species of tit in Switzerland. She settles all over Europe. Blue tits are particularly good climbers. They venture out from branches onto the finest of twigs and can even hang upside down to peck at seeds. They do this mainly during the breeding season. Otherwise, they mainly eat insects. They have another special enemy: the great tit is a bit bigger and stronger and often snatches away the best nesting holes.
The crested tit is the third most common tit species in Switzerland. She also lives all over Europe. It got its name from the feathers on its head. It feeds mainly on arthropods, i.e. insects, millipedes, crabs, and arachnids. In late summer, mainly seeds are added. While the great and blue tits prefer to live in deciduous forests, the crested tit also feels very comfortable in coniferous forests. The female lays slightly fewer eggs, around four to eight. If a pair loses a large number of hatchlings, they will breed a second time in the same summer.