Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)

Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758))

Scientific name: Parus caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name: Blue Tit
French name: Mésange bleue
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Size: 11 to 12 cm, 9 to 12 g
Habitat: Deciduous or mixed woodlands, gardens.
Food: Blue Tits mainly feed on insects and sometimes on seeds. In winter they visit reed beds where they feed on larvae hidden inside stems.
Nesting: The nest is usually located in a hole in a tree. The Blue Tit lays 6 to 15 eggs between April and June.
Migration: Sedentary, but northern and eastern birds can move southwards during winter.
Geographic area: All Europe except northern Scandinavia. Western temperate Asia.

You can easily identify the Blue Tit, smaller than the Great Tit, by its wide blue crown.
The white forehead is crossed by a dark blue line running from the bill to the nape.
The wings and the tail are blue. The other plumage is greenish brown.
The Blue Tit's song is a small sharp tsi-tsi.

Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) - Yvelines, France - March 14th 2009

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I have mainly taken pictures of Blue Tits in my garden from my favourite observation place.
That's to say through the kitchen's window.
Tits are attracted to fat balls with sunflower seeds inside.
Blue Tits are the most numerous to visit the feeding area.

Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) - Yvelines, France - January 29th 2005

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