The Coal Tit (Periparus ater) is the smallest tit of the coniferous forest — a small, quick bird with a black head, white cheeks and a distinctive white patch on the nape. It measures just 10–11 cm with a wingspan of 17–21 cm and weighs only 8–10 g. The black head with large white cheeks and that white nape patch is the surest field mark, since no other tit in the region shows white on the back of the neck; the back is greyish-brown, the underparts beige, and two white wing bars complete the pattern. Its small size and slight build easily separate it from the larger Great Tit.
The call and song recall the Great Tit's but are thinner, higher-pitched and faster — a whining, repeated "tsii-tsui tsii-tsui" often heard high in the spruce tops. Coal Tits breed throughout the boreal forest belt, most numerous in spruce-dominated woodland, and are essentially resident, though in years of poor seed supply flocks move southward and westward in irruptions and can then appear at garden feeders. Nesting takes place in cavities — tree holes, nest boxes, or even old abandoned rodent burrows in the ground — often surprisingly close to the ground compared with other tits, and the female lays a large clutch, typically 7–11 eggs. The diet consists of insects, spiders and spruce seeds, and the species is well known for caching large quantities of seeds in bark crevices, among needles and in lichens ahead of winter, foraging often high in the spruce canopy and hanging from needle clusters while searching for food. It is classified as Least Concern (LC).
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