Blue Tit

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

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

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Green listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	Bern(III)

Blue Tit populations have increased in abundance, with brief pauses in the long-term upward trend until around 2008, since when there has been a shallow decline. The BBS map of change in relative density between 1994-96 and 2007-09 indicates that there were minor decreases over that period in parts of England and Northern Ireland and that increase occurred mainly in northwestern, upland parts of the UK range. There has been an increase across Europe since 1980 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

UK breeding population

+29% increase (1967–2020)

Blue Tits are widespread breeding and wintering species throughout Britain and Ireland, absent only from the highest ground in Scotland, the Northern Isles, most of the Outer Hebrides and a few Inner Hebridean islands. They are chiefly inhabitatnts of broad-leaved woodland, though abundant in a wide range of other woodland, garden and scrub habitats. Densities are low throughout Ireland, in upland areas of Britain and in other landscapes with few woodlands such as the Fens of East Anglia. The highest densities occur in central and southeast England and lower-lying areas of Wales.

• 

• 

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	2728
% occupied in breeding season	90
No. occupied in winter	2731
% occupied in winter	90

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in	Deciduous Wood
Also common in	Pasture Farmland, Villages, Towns

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Distribution changes in both seasons are minor, involving a few gains in marginal coastal and upland areas in Scotland and Ireland.

Blue Tit is recorded throughout the year on up to 60% of complete lists.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	9 years 8 months 16 days (set in 1984)
Typical Lifespan	3 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Adult Survival	0.532±0.008   (Male: 0.508±0.034 Female: 0.421±0.028)
Juvenile Survival	0.379 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	63.3±2.8 | Range 60–67mm, N=102856
	Juveniles	62.9±1.9 | Range 60-66mm, N=86391
	Males	65.3±1.5 | Range 63–68mm, N=23092
	Females	61.9±1.4 | Range 60–64mm, N=29571

Body Weight	Adults	10.9±0.78 | Range 9.70–12.2g, N=77569
	Juveniles	10.8±0.9629 | Range 9.60–12.0g, N=64622
	Males	11.2±0.73 | Range 10.1–12.4g, N=16854
	Females	10.6±0.78 | Range 9.50–12.0g, N=21702

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	A
Field Codes	2-letter: BT | 5-letter code: BLUTI | Euring: 14620

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

Causes of change

Demographic trends in breeding parameters do not suggest that increases in this species are due to improvements in breeding performance. Evidence for ecological drivers of the population increase is limited but increased provisioning in gardens and milder winters may have played a role.

Further information on causes of change

Causes of change are likely to be similar to those for Great Tit (Robinson et al. 2014). A new strain of avian pox, first recorded in 2006, affects Blue Tits less frequently than Great Tits, and is unlikely to be behind the recent downturn which has occurred across the UK including regions where the disease is yet to be recorded (Lawson et al. 2018). Food provision in gardens during winter (Plummer et al. 2019) and availability of nest boxes, which may reduce egg and nestling predation, have both increased and may have contributed to the long-term rise in population. There have been no clear changes in fledglings per breeding attempt or in survival, however, to accompany the population increase.

Interspecific competition with Great Tits and intraspecific competition may also drive population changes in Blue Tits (Gamelon et al. 2019). As both species have increased in abundance over the long-term, density-dependent effects could thus have had a greater effect on Blue Tit which might explain the shallower long-term increase compared to Great Tit. The alert prompted from CES productivity measures may be caused by more frequent wet weather in June, as downpours can affect both tit species if they occur at the wrong time during the breeding cycle; however this is speculative and further analyses would be needed to confirm it.

Information about conservation actions

The population of this common and widespread species has increased since the 1970s with minor fluctuations, hence it is not a species of concern and no conservation actions are currently required. However, it has experienced a shallow decline over the last ten years and therefore ongoing monitoring would be prudent.

Ongoing provision of garden bird food is likely to continue to benefit the Blue Tit. However, the effects are not always entirely positive and feeders may contribute to the spread of avian pox, so those providing food should ensure they follow good hygiene practices. The provision of nest boxes, both in gardens and elsewhere, is also likely to continue to benefit this species.