Birds · Passeriformes · Paridae

European Crested Tit

Lophophanes cristatus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The European crested tit is unmistakable: a pointed crest speckled in black and white that no other European bird of its size has, and a black collar wrapping around its pale face. It lives in mature pine and coniferous woodland and depends on dead wood: it excavates its own nest hole in rotten trunks, which is uncommon among the tits. In Spain it is common in mountain pine woods and in the Atlantic pinewoods.

Weight

9 g – 14 g

Size

10 cm – 12 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestMountainInsectivore Diurnal In pairs Bird Temperate forest Mountain

45countries 199parks5same family

Fun facts

GeneralIts pointed crest gives it away at once; it stores seeds in the bark for the winter.
It excavates its own nest: unlike other tits, which take over existing holes, this one digs a cavity in rotten wood, and the female can take two weeks to finish it.
It stores seeds and insects in caches spread across its territory all year round, not only in autumn, and recovers those stores weeks later thanks to a highly developed spatial memory.