Andrew Chick Ecology

The Coal Tit (Periparus ater) is one of the UK’s smaller garden and woodland birds, often overlooked beside the brighter Blue Tit and larger Great Tit. Slighter and more delicate than its relatives, it has a fine bill and a quick, agile manner, often flitting through conifers or darting to feeders.

It can be recognised by its black cap and bib set against clean white cheeks, with the addition of a distinctive white patch on the nape of the neck that separates it from the Great Tit. The upperparts are grey-brown, the underparts a pale buff to whitish colour, and the wings show two neat white wing bars.

Coal Tits are strongly associated with coniferous woodland, though they are frequent visitors to gardens, especially in winter when they take seeds and often carry them away to store for later. Their call is a sharp, high-pitched “see-see-see” or “ti-ti-ti,” noticeably thinner and shriller than that of other tits.

Together, the small size, slender shape, black-and-white head pattern with nape patch, and fast, darting behaviour make this species distinctive once observed closely.