Lophophanes cristatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 6 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 8 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 13 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 17 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 18 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 19 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 20 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 21 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Tit sighting in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, based on 1,244 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 174 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Tit in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, against about 30% in March to June, the lowest months.
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.
3rd of 21
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Crested Tit sightings, Pyrénées National Park ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 50%) and Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Paridae
The closest relatives of the Crested Tit that you can see in Pyrénées National Park (family Paridae, Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice) are Great Tit (about 50%), Coal Tit (about 50%) and Blue Tit (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crested Tit is recorded against all the birds logged in Pyrénées National Park (1,244 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
