Tits are active, noisy, and social birds. They are
territorial during the breeding season and often join
mixed-species feeding flocks during the nonbreeding season. The tits are highly adaptable, and after the
corvids (crows and jays) and
parrots, amongst the most intelligent of all birds. Tits recognize the difference between species that are dangerous or harmless to them, by this they can protect each other or their families. These birds do this by mobbing or escaping, however they also avoid the nest when predators are present in order to avoid their families being seen.
Fission–fusion society Fission–fusion society has been documented in a number of avian taxa including this one. In brief, that means flocks can split into smaller groups or individuals, and subsequently reunite.
Vocalisations calling in
Finland. The tits make a variety of
calls and songs. They are amongst the most vocal of all birds, calling continuously in most situations, so much so that they are only ever silent for specific reasons such as avoiding predators or when intruding on a rival's territory. Quiet contact calls are made while feeding to facilitate cohesion with others in their social group. Studies in the
Japanese tit (Parus cinereus) have shown that different calls can encode messages such as "scan surroundings" or "approach", which can be combined to transmit compound messages. The order of these messages is meaningful, which has led researchers to liken the ordering of calls to syntax and grammar in human language. These birds have also been shown to create mental images for the call used to signal the presence of a snake, a cognitive ability that had previously been only attested in humans.
Diet and feeding with prey item The tits are generalist
insectivores that consume a wide range of small insects and other invertebrates, particularly small defoliating caterpillars. They also consume
seeds and nuts, particularly in the winter. One characteristic method of foraging in the family is hanging, where they inspect a branch or twig and leaves from all angles while hanging upside down to feed.
Breeding Tits are cavity-nesting birds, typically using trees, although
Pseudopodoces builds a nest on the ground. Most tree-nesting tits excavate their nests, and
clutch sizes are generally large for altricial birds, ranging from usually two eggs in the
rufous-vented tit of the Himalayas to as many as 10 to 14 in the blue tit of Europe. In favourable conditions, this species had laid as many as 19 eggs, which is the largest clutch of any altricial bird. and even pair-breeding parids are often highly social and maintain stable flocks throughout the nonbreeding season. Tits also have a variety of methods for attracting mates, primarily through their intricate, bouncing mating dance. Only the blue tit is typically polygynous; all other species are generally monogamous. Courtship feeding is typical of pair-breeding tits to deal with the cost of rearing their large broods. ==Systematics==