European Crested Tit Identification Guide
What I look like
The European Crested Tit is instantly recognizable by its black and white crest on the head.
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The crest of the female is shorter than that of the male.
The European Crested Tit has a fairly thin black collar and a small black bib. It has a small black crescent on its white cheeks.
The back is brown-gray.
The belly is white-beige.
My songs, my calls
Among tits, its song is somewhat more recognizable: a repetitive, high-pitched call that ends with a “rolled” sound repeated 2 or 3 times.
Listen to the European Crested Tit "tsi tsi tsigurrr ... tsigurr... tsi tsi tsi tsigurrr..."
How I behave
It is difficult to spot. Often hidden in the high branches of conifers searching for food.
It can be seen at feeders. They sometimes appear there as a pair.
How I reproduce
It breeds from March to July.
It produces one brood per year of 5 to 8 white eggs speckled with reddish.
Its nest is cup-shaped. Often made of moss, spider webs, and down to stay warm!
To attract the female, the male raises his crest and flutters his wings...
What I eat
Like the Coal Tit, in the good season, it seeks small insects, larvae, and spiders in the upper parts of trees.
In winter it likes pine seeds.
In the garden, it is attracted to fat balls.
It stores its food in small cracks and under the bark of conifers, like the Coal Tit.
Where to find me
It is mostly found in conifer forests.
It can be seen in deciduous forests and parks and gardens as long as a conifer is nearby.
The female is capable of digging a hole with its beak to nest.
Otherwise, it can also settle in woodpecker holes and nest boxes.
Well adapted to the cold, it can be found in the mountains up to 2300 meters altitude.
Generally sedentary, it usually stays close to the place where it was born.