BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside

GREAT TIT
Parus major

Conservation listings

Unlisted/Green
Biodiversity Steering Group Conservation Concern List

Long-term trend

UK: Moderate increase

Status summary

Great Tits have increased steadily since the 1960s with the exception of two brief periods of stability or shallow decline during the late 1970s and 1980s. The results of the BBS suggests that this increase is continuing, especially in England. A positive effect of increasing provisioning of food by humans during winter is one possible explanation for the increase. Changes in different aspects of breeding performance are contradictory but CES productivity shows a shallow decline, which may be related to high population levels (density-dependent competition).

Table of population changes for Great Tit

Source Period
(yrs) Years Plots
(n) Change
(%) Lower
limit Upper
limit Alert Comment

CBC all habitats 31 1968-1999 210 58 39 78

25 1974-1999 219 33 19 50

10 1989-1999 209 18 11 24

5 1994-1999 212 10 6 15

CBC farmland 31 1968-1999 89 79 50 111

25 1974-1999 89 40 21 63

10 1989-1999 90 31 18 43

5 1994-1999 88 21 12 30

CBC woodland 31 1968-1999 85 29 7 55

25 1974-1999 92 22 4 43

10 1989-1999 98 8 2 16

5 1994-1999 101 3 -2 8

CES adults 15 1984-1999 87 7 . .

10 1989-1999 102 17 . .

5 1994-1999 109 10 . .

CES juveniles 15 1984-1999 90 -2 . .

10 1989-1999 104 -1 . .

5 1994-1999 112 -10 . .

BBS UK 6 1994-2000 1520 18 12 23

BBS England 6 1994-2000 1246 16 10 21

BBS Scotland 6 1994-2000 105 18 -7 50

BBS Wales 6 1994-2000 121 18 -1 40

BBS N.Ireland 6 1994-2000 39 94 27 196 Small sample

The Breeding Bird Survey is jointly funded by BTO, JNCC and RSPB

Table of productivity information for Great Tit

Variable Period
(yrs) Years Mean
annual
sample Trend Predicted
in first year Predicted
in last year Change Comment

Clutch size 31 1968-1999 94 Linear decline 8.22 eggs 7.7 eggs -0.52 eggs

Brood size 31 1968-1999 162 Linear decline 7.39 chicks 6.7 chicks -0.69 chicks

Daily failure rate (eggs) 31 1968-1999 155 Linear decline 0.0063 nests/day 0.0036 nests/day -0.0027 nests/day

Daily failure rate (chicks) 31 1968-1999 128 None

Laying date 31 1968-1999 117 Curvilinear day 120 day 115 -5 days

Percentage juveniles (CES) 15 1984-1999 96 Smoothed trend 119 productivity index 100 productivity index -16%

Percentage juveniles (CES) 10 1989-1999 112 Smoothed trend 121 productivity index 100 productivity index -18%

Percentage juveniles (CES) 5 1994-1999 118 Smoothed trend 119 productivity index 100 productivity index -16%

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This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Crick, H.Q.P., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Leech, D.I., Marchant, J.H.,
Noble, D.G., Raven, M.J., Simpkin, A.P., Thewlis, R.M. and Wernham, C.V. (2002) Breeding Birds in the Wider
Countryside: their conservation status 2001. BTO Research Report No. 278. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

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