📸 PhotoPhoto: soumyajit nandy from Kolkata, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Coal Tit
Periparus ater (Coal Tit · ヒガラ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its weight of about 9 g is slightly heavier than a single Korean 500-won coin (7.7 g) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its body length of 11 cm is shorter than a ballpoint pen (about 14 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 In the United Kingdom, it frequently visits garden bird feeders, carrying seeds away to store and eat later (RSPB).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Coal Tit is a tiny tit species that breeds as a resident bird across Korea and favors high mountain forests.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
In male winter plumage, the lores, forehead, and crown are glossy bluish-black, and the center of the nape is white. The back is a sooty grayish-blue, the underparts below the breast are cream-colored, and the crown feathers form a small crest.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds mainly on insects, also eats spiders and plant fruits, and stores food for later consumption. It lays 5–8 eggs in May–July in natural tree hollows or old woodpecker nests, and forms flocks outside the breeding season.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
According to the National List of Species of Korea, it is a common resident bird breeding throughout Korea.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2024) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22735965/264545478
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 264545478
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000155319 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000155319
- • wikidata.org — Q191096
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Coal Tit - Dugalbitta, Uttarakhand, India (15143483976)
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • bto.org — coal-tit
- • rspb.org.uk — coal-tit
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Wouter Koch · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Cyanistes caeruleus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.