The European Crested Tit nests in holes in rotten wood, usually in a decayed stump or a dead tree trunk. It readily excavates or enlarges the nest hole itself in soft, rotten wood, which makes it dependent on dead wood in the forest. The female normally lays 5–8 eggs, which she incubates for about 13–16 days. The young are fed by both parents and fledge after barely three weeks. The Crested Tit rarely takes ordinary nest boxes.