FIELDCRAFT

GREAT TIT SONG

Early spring is a time when Great Tits seem to dominate the woodland arena with their songs. As with other famously common birds, such as Wren, Blackbird and Chaffinch, when you know the sound of the Great Tit, you get to realise quite how abundant they are. Most Great Tit songs are based round the classic ‘teacher, teacher’ repeated refrains of double notes. There are many variations on the basic phrase though, with added frills and extra notes. Some phrases even sound imitative, such as a repeated ‘pitchoo, pitchoo’, like the call of a Marsh Tit (but in a couplet); and paired ‘pink pink’ calls, which sound very like the calls of Chaffinches. Birdwatchers often say that if you hear an odd call in a wood it is probably a Great Tit. And this is not a bad general rule to follow! Before April brings a new wave of songsters, get to know the various calls and songs of the Great Tit.