Eurasian Eagle-Owl vs Great Tit
Bubo bubo compared with Parus major
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Eurasian Eagle-Owl | Great Tit |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Bubo bubo | Parus major |
| Order | Strigiformes | Passeriformes |
| Family | Strigidae | Paridae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 68.0 cm (26.8 in) | 14.0 cm (5.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 170.0 cm (66.9 in) | 24.0 cm (9.4 in) |
| Weight | 2800.0 g (98.77 oz) | 18.0 g (0.63 oz) |
| Diet | Mammals up to the size of hares and young foxes, and birds up to the … | Insects and spiders in summer, seeds and nuts in winter. A frequent and dominant visitor … |
| Clutch Size | 2-4 | 3-18 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
Rocky landscapes, cliffs, gorges, and open forest across Eurasia. Increasingly found near human settlements.
Great Tit
Deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, gardens, and hedgerows. Readily uses nest boxes. Highly adaptable to human environments.
Song & Call Comparison
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
Powerful, resonant 'ooo-hu' duetting with mate across great distances at dusk. One of Europe's deepest owl calls. Also gives barking screams, hisses, and grunts at the nest.
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
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
Widespread across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The most widely distributed eagle-owl.
Great Tit
Widespread across Europe and Asia from Britain to Japan, and south to North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Conservation Status
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
Great Tit
How to Tell Them Apart
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
Tawny-brown plumage heavily mottled and streaked with black. Large prominent orange eyes and long ear tufts. Streaked breast and barred belly.
Powerful, dark grey-black hooked 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
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl is one of the largest owl species in the world, with females sometimes reaching a wingspan of nearly two meters. Its deep booming call can be heard up to four kilometers away on calm nights. These apex predators sit at the top of the avian food chain, preying on other raptors including buzzards and smaller owls.
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.