The Great Tit (Parus major) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae, and remains the most widespread and common species in the genus Parus.
This bird is common in entire Italy, while prefers living in low altitudes like hills and flat level areas. It is often found in coniferous forests but is also familiar with urban parks, gardens and orchards to live in. Despite his urban attitude and fully adaptation to human changes in the environment, this species avoids human presence.
It is notable by the bright lemon-yellow plumage and the broad black mid-line stripe running down the belly from its chest. Males differ to females and juveniles whose mid-line stipe is narrower and discontinuous. It is also possible to observe a big variation of colors between subspecies.
The great tit is also an important study species in ornithology because of his easy and fast adjustment to artificial nests.
Its song is various and melodious perceptible to the hearing from middle January to June basically formed by two or three repetitive syllabuses. It is not rarely observed an imitation of other bird’s sounds.
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AA.VV. - Rassegna completa degli uccelli d'Europa, Rizzoli, Milano 1972
Mario Spagnesi, Lorenzo Serra - Uccelli d'Italia - Ministero dell'ambiente e della tutela del territorio, Direzione conservazione della natura, 2003
BirdLife International 2004. Parus major. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Versione 2010.1