British Tits
In addition to dealing with the general biology and behaviour of the birds, Dr Perrins gives full attention to such things as their social lives, their intelligence and adaptiveness, and their puzzling ability to adjust their population sizes to the future availability of food. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.comBecause of their ubiquity and apparent boldness, the tits are among the most easily observed, and the most popular, of all British birds. The Blue Tit, particularly, is an attractive and confident bird and will arrive at a well-stocked bird table, or at a bag of peanuts outside a window, within a few minutes of its being set out.Curiously, little has been written about tits for the general naturalist. In this book, Christopher Perrins, who succeeded the late David Lack at the Edward Grey Institute of Ornithology in Oxford, sets out to remedy this omission. Dr Perrins has spent many years studying these small birds in great detail and has himself made many important discoveries about their lives and behaviour.The book deals with seven species of tit. These include the six members of the true tits - Coal, Great, Blue, Crested, Marsh and Willow Tits - as well as the more distantly related Long-tailed Tit. In addition to dealing with the general biology and behaviour of the birds, Dr Perrins gives full attention to such things as their social lives, their intelligence and adaptiveness, and their puzzling ability to adjust their population sizes to the future availability of food. Dr Perrin's study demonstrates that there is much unsuspected complexity - some of it still not clearly understood - in the lives of even the most popular of groups of birds; as such it will be of interest to every birdwatcher, amateur and professional alike.
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Collins New Naturalist Library
62
British Tits
C. M. Perrins
Margaret Davies, C.B.E., M.A., Ph.D.
John Gilmour, M.A., V.M.H.
Kenneth Mellanby, C.B.E., Sc.D.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EDITOR
Eric Hosking, F.R.P.S.
The aim of this series is to interest the general reader in the wild life of Britain by recapturing the enquiring spirit of the old naturalists. The Editors believe that the natural pride of the British public in the native fauna and flora, to which must be added concern for their conservation, is best fostered by maintaining a high standard of accuracy combined with clarity of exposition in presenting the results of modern scientific research.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2 THE COAL TIT â Parus ater
CHAPTER 3 THE GREAT TIT â Parus major
CHAPTER 4 THE BLUE TIT â Parus caeruleus
CHAPTER 5 THE CRESTED TIT â Parus cristatus
CHAPTER 6 THE MARSH TIT â Parus palustris
CHAPTER 7 THE WILLOW TIT â Parus montanus
CHAPTER 8 THE LONG-TAILED TIT â Aegithalos caudatus
CHAPTER 9 ECOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPECIES
CHAPTER 10 HOME RANGES, TERRITORIES AND COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 11 FOOD REQUIREMENTS, FEEDING RATES AND WEIGHTS
CHAPTER 12 FEEDING HABITS AND IRRUPTIONS
CHAPTER 13 BREEDING BIOLOGY
CHAPTER 14 THE BREEDING SEASON AND MOULT
CHAPTER 15 CLUTCH-SIZE AND REPRODUCTIVE RATES
CHAPTER 16 GROWING UP AND GROWING OLD
CHAPTER 17 POPULATION STUDIES
CHAPTER 18 OF PREY AND PREDATORS
AFTER the Robin, the Blue Tit is probably the best-loved British bird. It is so small, so beautiful and so easy to observe. In the suburbs and even in many urban areas tits will appear, often in only a few minutes, if half a coconut, a bag of peanuts or a lump of suet is hung near a window. While it feeds, the birdâs acrobatics are a delight to watch, and have often cheered bedridden patients or elderly people unable to leave their homes. If a sparrow learns how to share the titâs food, it is looked upon as an unwelcome intruder: we resent it consuming expensive items willingly provided for what we consider to be more attractive species.
A suitable nesting box erected in almost any suburban garden is likely to be occupied during the first spring that it is available by a Great Tit. When the eggs hatch the adults will be seen making repeated visits to the box, many times in an hour, to bring food to the young. They will often be observed to be carrying caterpillars, and this soon convinces the gardener that they are his allies, consuming the pests which would otherwise destroy his vegetables or defoliate his trees and shrubs.
The titâs habit of pecking the top of milk bottles and drinking the cream may annoy the housewife, but it also convinces her of the birdâs cleverness. If she will not tolerate this minor inconvenience, she may persuade the milkman to put covers over the bottles he delivers.
Thus tits are birds which are particularly easy to observe at close quarters, when they are guests in our gardens. Nevertheless most of us know very little about their lives and habits, particularly about the majority of the birds which generally remain within their natural habitat â deciduous woodland in the case of the Blue and Great Tits we so commonly entertain.
Dr Christopher Perrins, the author of this book, has studied tits for many years, particularly in Wytham Wood near Oxford. He has himself made many interesting and important discoveries about their behaviour and biology. His ability to communicate this information to specialist and non-specialist readers alike make him an ideal choice as a writer in the New Naturalist series. As well as incorporating his own work, he also gives full recognition to the work of many other ornithologists, in Britain and in other parts of Europe, and in Asia, where the species found in Britain also occur. He has thus produced a factual and authoritative account which should be of value and interest both to serious ornithologists and to those who wish to know something more about the charming birds they see so often in their gardens.
Seven different birds are here described in detail. These include six (Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Crested Tit, Marsh Tit, Willow Tit) which all authorities recognize as members of this group. Dr Perrins has also included the Long-tailed Tit, which purists consider only a distant relation. We believe that this inclusion is justified, particularly by the way in which comparisons between the true tits and the Long-tailed Tit are developed.
Dr Perrins shows us what is known about tits, and he also draws attention to many gaps in our knowledge. We hope that this will stimulate readers to make their own observations so as to increase further our understanding of some of the most attractive members of our natural wildlife.
PERHAPS this book should have been written many years ago; so much has been published on the European tits that it is difficult to synthesize it now. These small birds are so amenable to study that the journals are full of observations on them. Curiously, apart from a small work in 1846,
