Full Pupp Presents: The Greatest Tits, Vol. 1

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P. m. aphrodite, described by Madarász in 1901, is found in southern Italy, southern Greece, Cyprus and the Aegean Islands. Estók, Péter; Zsebők, Sándor; Siemers, Björn M. (2009). "Great tits search for, capture, kill and eat hibernating bats". Biology Letters. 6 (1): 59–62. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0611. PMC 2817260. PMID 19740892.

a b c d Winder, Lucy A.; White, Stewart A.; Nord, Andreas; Helm, Barbara; McCafferty, Dominic J. (20 April 2020). "Body surface temperature responses to food restriction in wild and captive great tits". Journal of Experimental Biology. 223 (8). doi: 10.1242/jeb.220046. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 32312718. S2CID 216047432. Great tits have been found to possess special physiological adaptations for cold environments. When preparing for winter months, the great tit can increase how thermogenic (heat producing) its blood is. [52] The mechanism for this adaptation is a seasonal increase in mitochondrial volume and mitochondrial respiration in red blood cells and increased uncoupling of the electron transport from ATP production. [52] As a result, the energy that would have been used to make ATP is released as heat and their blood becomes more thermogenic. [52] In the face of winter food shortages, the great tit has also shown a type of peripheral vasoconstriction (constriction of blood vessels) to reduce heat loss and cold injury. [53] Reduced cold injury and heat loss is mediated by the great tits’ counter-current vascular arrangements, and peripheral vasoconstriction in major vessels in and around the birds’ bill and legs. [53] This mechanism allows uninsulated regions (i.e., bill and legs) to remain close to the surrounding temperature. In response to food restriction, the great tits’ bill temperature dropped, and once food availably was increased, bill temperatures gradually returned to normal. [53] Vasoconstriction of blood vessels in the bill not only serves as an energy saving mechanism, but also reduces the amount of heat transferred from core body tissues to the skin (via cutaneous vasodilation), which, in turn, reduces heat loss rate by lowering skin temperature relative to the environment. [53] Relationship with humans The great tit's willingness to use bird-feeders and nesting boxes makes it popular with the general public and useful to scientists a b Norris, K. J. (1990). "Female choice and the evolution of the conspicuous plumage coloration of monogamous male great tits". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 26 (2): 129–138. doi: 10.1007/bf00171582. S2CID 36757531. Long, John L. (1981). Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Terrey Hills, Sydney: Reed. p.332. ISBN 978-0-589-50260-7.Simpson, D.P. (1979). Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5thed.). London: Cassell Ltd. p.883. ISBN 978-0-304-52257-6. The great tit occupies a range of habitats. It is most commonly found in open deciduous woodland, mixed forests, forest edges and gardens. In dense forests, including conifer forests it prefers forest clearings. In northern Siberia it lives in boreal taiga. In North Africa it rather resides in oak forests as well as stands of Atlas cedar and even palm groves. In the east of its range in Siberia, Mongolia and China it favours riverine willow and birch forest. Riverine woodlands of willows, poplars are among the habitats of the Turkestan subspecies, as well as low scrubland, oases; at higher altitudes it occupies habitats ranging from dense deciduous and coniferous forests to open areas with scattered trees. [10] Perrins, C. M. (1965). "Population fluctuations and clutch-size in the great tit, Parus major L" (PDF). The Journal of Animal Ecology. 34 (3): 601–647. doi: 10.2307/2453. JSTOR 2453.

Mols, C; Visser, M; Jones, Peter (2007). Jones, Peter (ed.). "Great Tits ( Parus major) Reduce Caterpillar Damage in Commercial Apple Orchards". PLOS ONE. 2 (2): e202. Bibcode: 2007PLoSO...2..202M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000202. PMC 1784073. PMID 17285148. Götmark, Frank (2002). "Predation by sparrowhawks favours early breeding and small broods in great tits". Oecologia. 130 (1): 25–32. Bibcode: 2002Oecol.130...25G. doi: 10.1007/s004420100769. PMID 28547022. S2CID 19909152.Dunn, Euan (1977). "Predation by weasels ( Mustela nivalis) on breeding tits ( Parus spp.) in relation to the density of tits and rodents". Journal of Animal Ecology. 46 (2): 633–652. doi: 10.2307/3835. JSTOR 3835. A study published in 2005 confirmed that the major group was distinct from the cinereus and minor groups and that along with P.m. bokharensis it diverged from these two groups around 1.5 million years ago. The divergence between the bokharensis and major groups was estimated to have been about half a million years ago. The study also examined hybrids between representatives of the major and minor groups in the Amur Valley where the two meet. Hybrids were rare, suggesting that there were some reproductive barriers between the two groups. The study recommended that the two eastern groups be split out as new species, the cinereous tit ( Parus cinereus), and the Japanese tit ( Parus minor), but that the Turkestan tit be lumped in with the great tit. [8] This taxonomy has been followed by some authorities, for example the IOC World Bird List. [9] The Handbook of the Birds of the World volume treating the Parus species went for the more traditional classification, treating the Turkestan tit as a separate species but retaining the Japanese and cinereous tits with the great tit, [10] a move that has not been without criticism. [11] Wilkin, Teddy A.; King, Lucy E.; Sheldon, Ben C. (2009). "Habitat quality, nestling diet, and provisioning behaviour in great tits Parus major". Journal of Avian Biology. 40 (2): 135–145. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-048X.2009.04362.x. Slabbekoorn, Hans; Margriet Peet (2003). "Birds sing at a higher pitch in urban noise". Nature. 424 (6946): 267. Bibcode: 2003Natur.424..267S. doi: 10.1038/424267a. PMID 12867967. S2CID 4348883.