Short Description
The blue plumage on head and upper parts is unique in Central Europe and thus a clearly identifying feature. Chest and belly are bright yellow and the back and shoulders greenish in colour. The wings are blue with a white band. Males and females cannot be clearly distinguished.
Features
Eurasian blue tit
Cyanistes caeruleus
blue head and wings
Gesang (HG: Amsel, Kohlmeise)
Frommolt, CC BY-SA 3.0
Similar species
In the city
Eurasian blue tits are frequently found in gardens and parks. As cavity-nesting birds, they use wall recesses or similar building structures in urban settings.
They have come to like visiting feeding stations and also use artificial nesting aids for hibernating.
Fun Facts
After the great tit, the Eurasian blue tit is the second most common tit in Germany.
In the last few years, Eurasian blue tits have become the main predators of the horse chestnut leafminer moth, much to the benefit of horse chestnuts.
From January to June, they start to sing approx. 35 minutes before sunrise.
Eurasian blue tits rarely tend to migrate these days. If they do, they migrate to south-western Europe at the end of October and return to Germany at the end of March.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Sources
Habitus , Maximilian Dorsch, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ParusCaeruleus.jpg
Habitus , Francis Franklin, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eurasian_blue_tit_Lancashire.jpg
Jungtier, Dave Howes, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cyanistes_caeruleus_-Norfolk,_England_-chick-8.jpg
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