Cockatiel vs Great Tit
Nymphicus hollandicus compared with Parus major
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Cockatiel | Great Tit |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Nymphicus hollandicus | Parus major |
| Order | Psittaciformes | Passeriformes |
| Family | Cacatuidae | Paridae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 32.0 cm (12.6 in) | 14.0 cm (5.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 40.0 cm (15.7 in) | 24.0 cm (9.4 in) |
| Weight | 90.0 g (3.17 oz) | 18.0 g (0.63 oz) |
| Diet | Seeds, grain, berries, and plant material. Forages on the ground in open areas. In captivity, … | Insects and spiders in summer, seeds and nuts in winter. A frequent and dominant visitor … |
| Clutch Size | 1-7 | 3-18 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Cockatiel
Open arid and semi-arid habitats including scrubland, farmland, and woodland near water in Australia.
Great Tit
Deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, gardens, and hedgerows. Readily uses nest boxes. Highly adaptable to human environments.
Song & Call Comparison
Cockatiel
A loud, whistled 'weet' or 'weeeet'. Males whistle a melodic series; contact call is a high nasal 'ny'. Capable of mimicry in captivity. Song is relatively simple but pleasant.
Great Tit
A repetitive, teacher-teacher 'tee-cher, tee-cher, tee-cher'. Also gives ringing 'pink-pink' alarm. Highly versatile singer; over 40 song variants recorded from a single male.
Geographic Range & Migration
Cockatiel
Interior of Australia, generally avoiding coastal areas. The second most popular pet bird worldwide.
Great Tit
Widespread across Europe and Asia from Britain to Japan, and south to North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Conservation Status
Cockatiel
Great Tit
How to Tell Them Apart
Cockatiel
Wild-type males are grey with white wing patches, a yellow face, and bright orange cheek patches. Females are duller with barred tail undersides. Many captive color mutations exist.
Short, curved, grey bill
Great Tit
Blue-black head with white cheeks. Olive-green back, yellow underparts with a broad black central stripe. White wing bar and blue-grey tail.
Short, stout, dark bill
About These Birds
Cockatiel
The cockatiel is the smallest member of the cockatoo family and one of the most popular pet birds globally. These gentle, intelligent parrots can learn to whistle tunes and mimic sounds. Wild cockatiels are nomadic, traveling in flocks following food and water availability across the Australian outback.
Great Tit
The great tit is the largest European tit and one of the most studied wild birds in the world. Research at Wytham Woods in Oxford has monitored great tit populations since the 1940s, contributing enormously to ecology and evolution. These innovative birds famously learned to open milk bottle tops in 20th-century Britain.