Great tit / Kohlmeise (Parus major)

Junge Kohlmeise, Bahnhofstrasse 53, Fehraltorf. 2024-06-13 13:53:49 Fehraltorf Canon EOS R7 200-800mm Shutter speed 8.375
ISO 400
Exposure 1/320

Observations

First documented observation: 2019-04-22 in Luppmen. Most recent observation: 2025-04-25 in Greater Fehraltorf.

Description

Classification: Genus Parus (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]

Seasonal behavior

Year-round bird
Breeding: 03-23 - 08-09
Migration in: 02-10 - 03-23
Migration out: 09-07 - 10-27
More details at Vogelwarte.ch

Other Details

Physical details

Physical details: length=14 cm, wingspan=22-25 cm, weight=14-22 g
Habitats: Settlement

Vocalisation

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.
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.
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] Song attributes: Melody: simple rhythmic (llhllh), slow, Frequency: medium (1-5 KHz) Singing season: 01-01 - 06-30 Dawn chorus start: 30 minutes before dawn.
Kohlmeise gesang in Fehraltorf llhllh. Fehraltorf 2025-01-15 13:28:00 Melody: llhllh
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Ungewöhnlicher kohlmeise gesang hmhmlmlmhmh, approximately notes GCGCgCgCGCG. Fehraltorf 2024-05-02 15:36:26 Melody: hmhmlmlmhmh
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Kohlmeise lhlh Gesang am Luppmen. Luppmen 2025-02-10 14:00:00 Melody: lhlh
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Fehraltorf 2020-09-30 17:04:29 Melody: lhm ♫ 2020-09-30 17:04:29 Source: BirdNet 20200930_170429 birdnet 960 lhm glide saw great tit - Great tit - Fehraltorf.mp3 Fehraltorf (song)

Kohlmeise llh, Gartenbaumläufer 5-noter zb at 22, 33, to id at 47 evtl sdrossel. Staldenweiher 2024-03-22 06:43:22 Melody: llh Singers: Great tit, Short-toed treecreeper

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Kohlmeise hll ruf. Greater Fehraltorf 2025-03-30 13:41:00 Melody: hll
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Kohlmeise lh 2-noter. Staldenweiher 2024-03-22 06:46:48 Melody: lh
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Fehraltorf 2020-10-30 07:20:23 Melody: hlll ♫ 2020-10-30 07:20:23 Source: BirdNet 20201030_072023 birdnet 1055 hlll - Great tit - Fehraltorf.mp3 Fehraltorf (song)

Kohlmeise hlh call fehraltorf, sehr hohe Noten 5-8khz. Fehraltorf 2024-09-12 10:10:00 Melody: hlh
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3-notiger Kohlmeise Gesang lmhlmh. Greater Fehraltorf 2025-03-17 11:59:59 Melody: lmhlmh
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Hungerseeli 2020-06-03 09:14:37 Melody: lmh ♫ 2020-06-03 09:14:37 Source: BirdNet 20200603_091437 birdnet 577 lmh kohlmeise - Great tit.mp3 Hungerseeli (song)

Kohlmeise mlh mlh etwa 5,5, 4,0, 7.5 MHz. Schachen, Tobel Wissbach till Degersheim 2024-04-27 09:40:00 Melody: mlh mlh
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Dawn chorus am Luppmen - Amsel 2m06, Mönchsgrasmücke 4m, 8+m, Kohlmeise, Hausrotschwanz, Aaskrähe. Luppmen 2024-05-15 05:27:28 Melody: m Singers: Common blackbird, Black cap warbler, Great tit, Black redstart, Carrion crow

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Great tit lhh song plus long-tailed tit, goldcrest, etc. Greater Fehraltorf 2025-02-03 15:23:00 Melody: lhh Singers: Great tit, Long-tailed tit, Goldcrest

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(1) Grünfink triller ruf, kohlmeise kleiner melodischer ruf lh oder lhlhl, beide rufe abwechselnd oder gleichzeitig. Greater Fehraltorf 2024-09-09 07:03:00 Melody: lh lhlhl Callers: European greenfinch, Great tit

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Calls: 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.
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] 1: 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'
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Call from Xeno-Canto

Call from Xeno-Canto XC592152 great tit call.
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2: Automatically generated from Xeno-Canto recording. - but really OWN_VIA_ZOOM

Vogelkonzert bei Staldenweiher - Kohlmeise, Buchfink, Tannenmeise, Trommeln von Buntspecht oder Schwarzspecht, Singdrossel. Staldenweiher 2025-03-04 09:25:21 Callers: Great tit, Common chaffinch, Coal tit, Great spotted woodpecker, Black woodpecker, Song thrush

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Trommeln, Kohlmeise, chattering. Staldenweiher 2024-03-22 06:49:36
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3: Automatically generated from Xeno-Canto recording.

XC580188 great tit begging call.
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4: Automatically generated from Xeno-Canto recording. - but really OWN

Kontaktrufe Kohlmeise, evtl auch Blaumeisen im Garten, am Luppmen. Luppmen 2021-08-09 08:20:56 Callers: Great tit, Eurasian blue tit

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Kohlmeise contact call chatter am Luppmen. Luppmen 2020-08-29 07:43:28
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5: Automatically generated from Xeno-Canto recording. - but really OWN_VIA_ZOOM

Great tit check alarm call oder täck Ruf. Fehraltorf 2021-09-19 10:13:00
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Call attributes: Call melody: two notes, fast, Frequency: 1-7 KHz,