Blue Tits
a favourite bird in Britain.
The Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus (often still referred to as Parus caeruleus) is a European member of the ‘Tit’ family, often called ‘chickadees’ or ‘titmice’ in the USA. This is a good example of the way that American English differs from British English. Back when colonists were leaving Britain for America these birds were known as ‘titmice’, nothing to do with the mouse; but derived from ‘Old English’ words implying ‘a small bird that you find near the house’. This name was carried to America, where it was retained, while back in the UK it was shortened to ‘Tit’. There are many similar examples of this phenomenon, well explained in Bill Bryson’s book ‘The Mother Tongue'. We used the word ‘gotten’ in the UK until the seventeenth century, but have now replaced it with got – for example.
The Blue Tit is a small resident bird with striking blue, yellow and green plumage. Blue Tits are inquisitive and bold birds, quite happy to live in close proximity with humans. They are among the first to visit a new bird table and will readily move into nest-boxes where the correct ones are provided. (If your nest-box has a hole large enough for the Great Tit then he will soon move in and kick the Blue Tits out!). While living in your garden the Blue Tits will provide a useful service eating greenfly, rather like the Ladybird (or Ladybug).
You can listen to the song or watch a short video of the adult, or watch a much longer video of the young leaving their nest-box. You can also find other creatures that live in the same habitat. After that audio-visual extravaganza I can move on to some interesting facts and information about the Blue Tit.
Adapted to cities!
Urban Blue Tits sing faster than their rural cousins. Research throughout Europe has confirmed that individuals who live in cities not only sing faster, but also have shorter songs delivered at a higher pitch. They are also much more likely to ‘try out’ new songs. It is suggested that these adaptations are good if you want to be heard over traffic noise – but it makes me think about urban and rural humans and wonder if the urban Blue Tits are not just a tiny bit more neurotic than their country relatives!
Milk bottles and cream.
In Britain milk used to be delivered to every household by the ‘milkman’. The bottles would remain on the doorstep until people got up. Back in the 1960’s people began to notice holes in the foil caps, and soon the culprits were identified as Blue Tits grabbing an early breakfast of cream. This learned behaviour was taught to young Blue Tits, and no milk bottles were safe. People began to get the milkman to leave the bottles in ‘Tit-proof’ boxes, or to cover the tops in some way. Subsequently people became more ‘health-conscious’, and the switch to low-fat milk did not please the Blue Tits. Add that to the fact that most people in Britain now buy their milk in cartons from supermarkets and you have the explanation for why this behaviour seems to have almost died out.
Yellow is good!
There is evidence that female Blue Tits like their males to be as yellow as possible, and a reason for this preference has recently been suggested. The more caterpillars a male eats, the more carotenoids he will ingest, and the more yellow he will become. A nice yellow Blue Tit is a well-fed Blue Tit, and he is likely to be a good provider for a box-full of hungry young chicks. If you are a female Blue Tit and you choose the yellowiest male then you are more likely to breed successfully.
What sex?
Humans cannot tell the difference between male and female Blue Tits simply by looking at them, but obviously the Blue Tits can! This is explained by the fact that birds have much better eyesight than us. They are able to see well into the ultraviolet range, and it turns out that the ‘blue’ crest is very much brighter in males when viewed in the UV range (at 352nm to be precise). Other parts of the male Blue Tit also shine brightly to attract females.
This is just one more example to make us cautious when we try to understand animals using our own senses – we need to understand how they ‘see’ things!
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