Peripapus ater

The Coal tit Periparus ater is a species of passerine bird in the Paridae family found in Eurasia and North Africa. It is quite common and is usually sedentary; most of its populations do not migrate. Typical of coniferous forests, very easy to detect due to its incessant tit-tuii call. This will allow us to locate it in the high branches of the pine forests of our mountains, where it usually searches for insects and seeds accompanied by other congeners.

The Coal Tit is a small bird (between 10 and 11.5 cm long), with dull colored plumage, a black head with white cheeks and nape, the latter being its most distinctive feature. The back and wings are grayish blue, with a narrow white wing band, while the chest and belly have a buff hue. The beak is black, the legs are leaden, and the iris is dark brown. In alert situations it shows a small crest.

It is very active and thoroughly explores branches, twigs, leaves and cones. In its exhaustive search for food it performs real acrobatics, often hanging or performing short hovers. It preferentially lives in pine forests, but is also found in leafy formations and in garden areas.

After the reproductive period, it moves in small groups that are often made up of several species, as it mixes with other parids, wrens, chiffchaffs, etc.

Its song is simple and repetitive: tit-tuii, tit-tuii, tit-tuii… The calls are varied, as in the rest of the parids. He emits different short notes, which he sometimes threads into long, fast stanzas.