Coal Tit

Periparus ater (Linnaeus, 1758) CT COATI 14610
Family: Passeriformes > Paridae

Coal Tit, Philip Croft

Smaller than many other tits, Coal Tits show a preference for conifer forests, though they are also common garden visitors.

The wings and back are largely olive-grey, with pale wingbars. Birds have a black cap and bib, contrasting with white cheeks, and a distinctive white spot on the nape. The song is similar to Great Tit, with a bisyllabic rhythm, but more slurred and higher pitched. Two Coal Tit subspecies occur in Britain & Ireland, both of which differ from birds found in Continental Europe

Coal Tits spend the majority of their time hunting for spiders and insects in woodland, especially among conifers. They nest in tree hollows, but will also use nests boxes. They produce one or two broods each year. UK Coal Tit numbers increased in the mid-20th century and have been fairly stable since. They can be found in woodland throughout Britain & Ireland.

Exploring the trends for Coal Tit

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Coal Tit population is changing.

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Identification

Coal Tit identification is often straightforward.

SONGS AND CALLS

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Coal Tit, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Other

Begging call

Alarm call

Call

Song

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Status and Trends

Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.

CONSERVATION STATUS

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

POPULATION SIZE

POPULATION CHANGE

While other common tit species have increased, the UK Coal Tit population has been rather stable since the mid 1970s, following earlier rapid increase. The ratios of Coal Tit to Blue and Great Tits caught for ringing have both shown a sustained increase since 1960 (Perrins 2003), however, although in these figures population change may be confounded to some degree with changes in behaviour among birds and bird ringers. The BBS map of change in relative density between 1994-96 and 2007-09 indicates that population change was fairly uniform across the UK over that period, but with stronger increases in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Borders and northeastern Scotland. However more recent BBS data show a subsequent shallow decrease in Scotland and perhaps also in Wales and Northern Ireland. The European trend is described as being a 'moderate decline'; however the trend graph suggests numbers have been broadly stable apart from a peak in the early 1990s, and the long-term change is calculated as +3% (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

Exploring the trends for Coal Tit

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Coal Tit population is changing.

trends explorer

DISTRIBUTION

Coal Tits are most abundant in conifer plantations. Highest densities are recorded throughout Ireland, and in heavily forested areas in Scotland and Wales, and in localised pockets in England, particularly Thetford Forest and the New Forest. The most notable gaps in distribution occur on the highest ground in Scotland, the Northern Isles, some Hebridean islands and the Fens in eastern England.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

>Bar of similar size indicate the species is equally likely to be recorded in those habitats

DISTRIBUTION CHANGE

Modest range expansions and population increases have been linked to the spread of commercial softwood plantations and also the popularity of exotic evergreens in gardens.

Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK

SEASONALITY

Coal Tit is recorded throughout the year.

Weekly occurence of Coal Tit from BirdTrack
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

RINGING RECOVERIES

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Foreign locations of Coal Tit ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland
Encountered in: Winter (Nov-Feb); Spring (Mar-Apr); Summer (May-Jul); Autumn (Aug-Oct)

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information about Coal Tit, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING

Exploring the trends for Coal Tit

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Coal Tit population is changing.

trends explorer

SURVIVAL & LONGEVITY

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Exploring the trends for Coal Tit

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Coal Tit population is changing.

trends explorer

BIOMETRICS

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

CODES & CLASSIFICATION

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Gaelic: Smutag
Welsh: Titw Penddu
Catalan: mallerenga petita
Czech: sýkora uhelnícek
Danish: Sortmejse
Dutch: Zwarte Mees
Estonian: musttihane
Finnish: kuusitiainen
French: Mésange noire
German: Tannenmeise
Hungarian: fenyvescinege
Icelandic: Barrmeisa
Irish: Meantán Dubh
Italian: Cincia mora
Latvian: meža zilite
Lithuanian: juodoji zyle
Norwegian: Svartmeis
Polish: sosnówka
Portuguese: chapim-carvoeiro
Slovak: sýkorka uhliarka
Slovenian: menišcek
Spanish: Carbonero garrapinos
Swedish: svartmes

Research

Interpretation and scientific publications about Coal Tit from BTO scientists.

CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS

Causes of change

There is little good evidence available regarding the drivers of the breeding population change in this species in the UK.

Further information on causes of change

Information on the causes of change is sparse, though some effect of cold winters is evident in the 1960s and 1980s. Nest failure rate at the egg stage has declined in recent decades, and the laying date has advanced by almost two weeks, but there has been no change in nest productivity.

Information about conservation actions

The UK population has been relatively stable since the mid-1970s, hence the Coal Tit is not a species of concern and no conservation actions are currently required.

The drivers of change for this species are unknown and specific conservation actions that may benefit this species are uncertain. It may benefit from the increased provision of bird food in gardens and from other actions which support other woodland birds such as woodland management and the provision of nest boxes. However, the effect of these actions will not necessarily be positive for Coal Tits as they could also lead to increased Blue Tit and Great Tit populations, and hence greater levels of interspecific competition as these two species are both dominant over Coal Tits (Haftorn 1993).

Links to more information from ConservationEvidence.com

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