Coal Tit

Periparus ater

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestCavity nestTiny · 9 g

What the Coal Tit sounds like

Sonogram of the Coal Tit: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by wilmet sebastien · Call · Arrondissement de Verdun (near Belleville-sur-Meuse), Meuse, Grand Est, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Coal Tit: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Grégoire Chauvot · Song · Lavey-Morcles, Aigle District, Vaud, Switzerland · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Coal Tit: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Carlo Fracasso · Song · Campochiaro, Province of Campobasso, Molise, Italy · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The coal tit is 10–11.5 cm in length, and has a distinctive large white nape spot on its black head. The head, throat and neck of the adult are glossy blue-black, contrasting with the off-white sides of the face, which are tinged grey or yellow depending on subspecies. The brilliant white nape is another striking feature, as are the white tips of the wing coverts, which appear as two wingbars. The underparts are whitish, shading from buff to rufous on the flanks. The bill is black, the legs are lead-coloured, and the irides are dark brown. Juvenile birds have duller plumage than adults.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Coal Tit

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Coal Tit

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 68 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Myanmar (Burma), Guernsey.

About the Coal Tit

The coal tit is a passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in forests throughout the temperate to subtropical Palearctic, including North Africa. The black-crested tit is now included in this species.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

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