Coal Tit (Periparus ater)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Periparus ("very tit") ater ("black/dark/dull")

Adult Coal Tit (subspecies P. a. britannicus) at Brigstock, Northants - March 2012

Featured Subspecies: Periparus ater britannicus

Weight: 8-10g  /  Length: 11.5cm  /  Wingspan: 17-21cm

UK GREEN LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Coal Tit is probably the third most likely of the tits to turn up at your bird feeder, although trailing a long way behind Blue and Great. It is actually adapted to feed in conifers and as such it is probably more likely to come into the garden if you are relatively nearby some. It is most easily differentiated from other tits by the white streak on the back of its head, which easily separates it from the otherwise comparably coloured Marsh and Willow tits, although the more blue-tit like proportions and the blue-grey rather than brown back are the other big hints..

Related Species:

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Paridae

Genus: Periparus
Subspecies: P. a. hibernicus, P. a. britannicus, P. a. ater, P. a. vieirae, P. a. sardus, P. a. atlas, P. a. ledouci, P. a. cypriotes, P. a. moltchanovi, P. a. derjugini, P. a. michalowskii, P. a. phaeonotus, P. a. rufipectus, P. a. aemodius, P. a. pekinensis, P. a. kuatunensis, P. a. ptilosus, P. a. insularis, P. a. melanolophus   

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Common and widespread resident (760,000 territories)

 - Birds seen at a large number of sites, including but not limited to Rutland Water, Brigstock and Geddington.

SPAIN - Resident.

 - MADRID 2015 TRIP: Single bird seen in Madrid.          

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto