Tit with a crest
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Crested tit
Crested tit Tutt-tihane Lophophanes cristatus
An adult crested tit can be recognized from the black-white-patterned crest on its head, no other tits have that. The collar is white, a black patch gracing the throat, eye masked by a black streak. Back plumage is greyish-brown, underparts pale grey, flanks rust-coloured. Crested tits all have a similar plumage, the juveniles are only more brown-tinged and their crest is not as proudly arched. In size and weight they are comparable to blue tits.
Outside forests we rarely see a crested tit but sometimes it can be a surprise visitor at the birdfeeder. In a pine forest it pays to be attentive, a subtle twittering that you hear there may belong precisely to a crested tit. In autumn the birds hid spiders and other goodies in bark crevices, there they also look for something to tuck in the belly.
The crested tit is numerous on Estonia’s mainland as a breeder as well as a winterer, on the islands however rare. In winter they usually keep together in flocks. In a few more weeks the sun moves even higher and by and by pairs will be formed.
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