Andrew Chick Ecology

Juvenile Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) can be told apart from adults by their softer, duller plumage. While adults show bright blue and yellow, youngsters look more subdued: their underparts are a washed-out yellow, the wings and crown are a grey-blue rather than vivid, and the face lacks the striking white and blue contrast. Instead, juveniles have a yellowish face with a dusky eye-stripe, giving them a “softer” look overall. Their beaks may also appear slightly shorter and paler. By late summer, they moult into their first adult plumage, gradually gaining the brighter colours that make Blue Tits so familiar.