Crested Tit

Crested Tit

Lophophanes cristatus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Barcelona

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%

1,776 Verified sightings at Barcelona
6,229 In all 21 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Crested Tit

The crested tit or European crested tit (Lophophanes cristatus) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in coniferous forests throughout central and northern Europe and in deciduous woodland in France and the Iberian Peninsula. In Great Britain, it is mainly restricted to the ancient pinewoods of Inverness and Strathspey in Scotland, and rarely strays far from its haunts. A few vagrant crested tits have been seen in England. It is resident, and most individuals do not migrate.

The crested tit was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Parus cristatus. Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe, but this was restricted to Sweden by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1905. The crested tit is now placed together with grey-crested tit in the genus Lophophanes that was introduced in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. The current genus name, Lophophanes, is from the Ancient Greek lophos, "crest", and

phaino, "to show". The specific cristatus is Latin for "crested". This species was formerly placed in Parus... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:43

France · 2026

© Louis-Marie Gourmelon · XC1149841 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:45

Spain · 2026

© Jacobo Ramil Millarengo · XC1082461 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:48

France · 2023

© Thierry THOMAS · XC844213 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~50%
2 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~40%
3 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~40%
4 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
5 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~30%
6 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
7 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~30%
8 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
9 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
10 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
11 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
12 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~20%
13 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
14 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
15 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
16 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
17 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
18 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
~10%
19 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
20 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
21 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
2 Valencia 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
3 Kyiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
~10%
4 Paris 🇫🇷 France
~10%
5 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
6 Lyon 🇫🇷 France
~10%
7 Yekaterinburg 🇷🇺 Russia
<5%
8 Stockholm 🇸🇪 Sweden
<5%
9 Brussels 🇧🇪 Belgium
<5%
10 Minsk 🇧🇾 Belarus
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Dresden Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
2 Alpenzoo Innsbruck 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Crested Tit in Barcelona?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Tit sighting in Barcelona on a given day, based on 1,776 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 31st most-seen of the 215 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Crested Tit in Barcelona?

August and October–December

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Tit in Barcelona on a given day, against about 20% in January–July and September, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Crested Tit?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested Tit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Barcelona the best place to see a Crested Tit?

Yes

Of the 21 cities where we can rate Crested Tit sightings, Barcelona has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Valencia (Spain, about 10%) and Kyiv (Ukraine, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Crested Tit live in Barcelona?

Same family: Paridae

The closest relatives of the Crested Tit that you can see in Barcelona (family Paridae, Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice) are Great Tit (about 50%), Blue Tit (about 50%) and Coal Tit (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Crested Tit sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Crested Tit is recorded against all the birds logged in Barcelona (1,776 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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