Emperor Penguin vs Great Tit
Aptenodytes forsteri compared with Parus major
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Emperor Penguin | Great Tit |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Aptenodytes forsteri | Parus major |
| Order | Sphenisciformes | Passeriformes |
| Family | Spheniscidae | Paridae |
| Conservation Status | Near Threatened | Least Concern |
| Length | 115.0 cm (45.3 in) | 14.0 cm (5.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 76.0 cm (29.9 in) | 24.0 cm (9.4 in) |
| Weight | 30000.0 g (1058.22 oz) | 18.0 g (0.63 oz) |
| Diet | Primarily Antarctic silverfish, krill, and squid. The deepest-diving bird, reaching depths over 500 meters and … | Insects and spiders in summer, seeds and nuts in winter. A frequent and dominant visitor … |
| Clutch Size | 1 | 3-18 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Emperor Penguin
Antarctic pack ice and surrounding Southern Ocean. The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter.
Great Tit
Deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, gardens, and hedgerows. Readily uses nest boxes. Highly adaptable to human environments.
Song & Call Comparison
Emperor Penguin
Loud, resonant trumpeting calls used for individual recognition in dense colonies. Each bird's call is unique in frequency. Also gives softer contact 'braying' notes.
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
Emperor Penguin
Antarctic continent and surrounding sea ice. Breeding colonies are found along the entire Antarctic coastline.
Great Tit
Widespread across Europe and Asia from Britain to Japan, and south to North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Conservation Status
Emperor Penguin
Great Tit
How to Tell Them Apart
Emperor Penguin
Black head, chin, and dorsal side with white belly. Bright yellow-orange ear patches fade to pale yellow on the upper breast.
Long, slightly decurved bill — black with orange or pink mandible stripe
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
Emperor Penguin
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all penguin species. They breed in the harshest conditions on Earth, enduring Antarctic winter temperatures of -60 C and wind speeds of 200 km/h. Males incubate the single egg on their feet under a brood pouch for about 65 days while fasting.
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.