Great tit

Parus major Today, 3 October

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

now moulting 13 days

moulting Bird here all year

The whole year

2 August – 16 October

the coastal calendar, shifted 32 days later for this region

Sitting the year outGetting readyYoung aboutYoung leaving

Where to look

Any tree, any nest box, any hole in a wall; the two-note song starts in February.

Worth knowing

Times laying so that the chicks hatch on the peak of the caterpillar flush, which means it is one of the best-documented species for climate-driven advance — the first egg now falls about a fortnight earlier than in the 1970s across Europe.

Look it up

photos, sightings and recordings, off this site

iNaturalist — photos and where people are seeing it Wikipedia — Parus major xeno-canto — recordings of the call

Regions

where this species is on the list

Dalmatian coastKvarner and IstriaVelebit and the DinaridesSlavonia and the Pannonian plainTukhlia, Ukrainian Carpathians

Phase by phase

dates as they fall in the region chosen above

Phase	When	Length	What it means
courting	14 March – 20 April	38 days	Song, display, fighting, scent-marking — pairs forming or reaffirming.
building	21 April – 11 May	21 days	Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out.
on eggs	12 May – 31 May	20 days	Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young	1 June – 20 June	20 days	Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young have left	21 June – 1 August	42 days	Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults.
moulting	2 August – 16 October	76 days	Feathers or coat replaced. Many birds go quiet and hide while it happens.
going about the year	17 October – 13 March	148 days	Feeding, holding territory, doing nothing the calendar singles out.

Other birds in this region

Barn swallowBlack storkCommon cuckooCommon ravenCommon swiftEuropean robinGreat spotted woodpeckerTawny owlWhite stork

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