| Photo Information |
| Copyright: Charles Neill (charlieneill) (2) |
| Genre: Animals |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2009-09-26 |
| Categories: Birds |
| Exposure: f/5.0, 1/320 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2009-10-04 1:27 |
| Viewed: 356 |
| Points: 0 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
A Great Tit bombs down to the feeder in our garden.
The Great Tit (Parus major) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe in any sort of woodland. It is resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate. In the past this species was considered a ring species with several subspecies covering a wide distribution, but these have now been separated.
Great Tits are primarily insectivores. They prefer protein rich caterpillars during breeding season to feed their young. A study published in 2007 found that Great Tits helped to reduce caterpillar damage in apple orchards by 50%. In England, Great Tits learned to break the foil caps sealing bottles of milk that had been delivered to homes to obtain the cream floating on top.
It was reported in 2009 that Great Tits have been observed killing and eating pipistrelle bats. This is the first time a songbird has been seen to hunt bats. The tits only do this during winter when the bats are hibernating and other food is scarce. |
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