Great tit / Kohlmeise (Parus major)

Kohlmeise auf ast. 2020-04-13 10.29.27 Luppmen
Classification: Genus Parus; Family Titmice (Paridae)
Most common year-round bird at our house. Often seen at the suet balls we hang out, or in fall at our sunflowers. It's said that they will sound a false alarm at a feeding source, knowing that other birds listen for their alarms and flee! There are many entertaining stories in the Norwegian book 'The Secret Life of Small Birds'.
It's a favorite food of the Eurasian sparrowhawk, though I'm sure cats are the greater danger.
They flit from tree to tree in small scattered groups, and often avail themselves of the seeds on our sunflowers. They can be heard on the Luppman in Fehraltorf at any time of year and day.
Etymology: (Conrad) Gessner also notes that the coal tit was known as Kohlmeiß in German – the literal equivalent of its English name, though in its modern orthography Kohlmeise it refers to the great tit (Parus major). That bird was in Gessner's day usually called Spiegelmeiß ("multicoloured tit"[5]), Brandtmeiß ("burnt tit") or grosse Meiß ("great tit") in German. [Link]
Behavior: 'Studies in Europe on tits showed a 2-way doubly asymmetric interaction: the great tit (Parus major) is dominant over the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) during the nonbreeding season (Haftorn 1993), and the smaller blue tit is competitively dominant during the breeding season (Dhondt 1989).' Another cited work notes that the coal tit is considered the bottom of the hierarchy in Scandinavia. [Interspecific dominance relationships and hybridization between black-capped and mountain chickadees | Behavioral Ecology]
Like all tits it is a cavity nester, usually nesting in a hole in a tree. [Link]
Sie lernen voneinander und sogar von den verwandten Blaumeisen und finden neue Nahrungsquellen. Aber sie merken es sich auch, wenn sie sehen das andere Vögel etwas fressen, was ihnen nicht zukömmlich ist. [Schlaue Kohlmeisen gucken voneinander ab]
Song: Nabu: Die erste Vogelart, die wir im Jahr hören, ist meistens die Kohlmeise mit ihrem typischen Läuten: "Zip Zäh" oder "Zip zip Zäh". [NABU Experte Lars Lachmann bei Deutschlandfunk Nova]
Song highly variable, but usually consisting of two to three notes repeated in a motif. Same birds have many different motifs but generally repeat them many times before switching. Identified by its timbre and often metallic resonant quality, more than by actual phrasing (which is very variable). Often includes buzzing sounds in song. [Link]
Calls: Generally more full-bodied and resonant calls than blue tit, and not so high-pitched. Characteristic Chaffinch-like "tink tink tink" often uttered by male. [Link]
Physical details: length=14 cm, wingspan=22-25 cm, weight=14-22 g
Habitats: Settlement

Song: Said to have a repertoire as a species of 50 or more different songs, albeit simple ones, up to 10 per individual. Females prefer a male with a large repertoire. One two-note song sounds like a squeaky bed.
Song attributes: Melody: simple rhythmic, slow, Frequency: medium (1-5 KHz) Singing season: 01-01 - 06-30 Dawn chorus start, 30 minutes before dawn.
Call: Chuck-a-chuck-a-chuck, sometimes preceded by higher 'wheat!'
Call from Xeno-Canto

♫ Call from Xeno-Canto Illustrates higher 'wheat' before the 'chuck-a-chuck' Source: XENOCANTO XC586723 great tit call wheat chuck-a-chuck.mp3 (call)

Call from Xeno-Canto

♫ Call from Xeno-Canto Source: XENOCANTO XC592152 great tit call.mp3 (call)


Call attributes: Call melody: simple rhythmic, fast, Frequency: 1-7 KHz,
First documented observation : 2019-04-22 in Luppmen.