The Coal Tit is the drabbest of the colourful trio. The Coal Tit has nothing to do with the fossil fuel burned in fires 'coal' here means dull or dark.

The black streak continues around the bird's neck giving the impression that it is wearing a black tie or black scarf. It has a bright yellow chest and belly with a black streak running down its middle.

What is great about the Great Tit is its great size: it is by far the biggest, glossiest and the chunkiest of the trio. The Blue Tit has a blue beret perched on top of its head immediately distinguishing it from the other two with their black heads. Only three species are resident breeders in Ireland and all three are common at bird tables: the Blue Tit, the Great Tit, and the Coal Tit. It is not unusual to have four or five of them together on one feeder, something that would be unheard of during the summer breeding season. So, if you feed our wild birds at a bird table, it is extremely likely that you have Coal Tits aplenty. Often they will band with other tit species to form hunting parties known as 'roving tit bands'. Coal Tits address this problem by abandoning their breeding pair bonds, banding together in groups and hunting in small flocks. When the breeding season is over and as winter approaches food become more difficult to find. In summer, when food is more plentiful, the birds have sufficient to eat and Coal Tits live in pairs rearing their young. BirdWatch Ireland organises both the Countryside Bird Survey and the Garden Bird Survey and the results of these two surveys reveal that the Coal Tit is one of Ireland's top 20 most-widespread garden birds it is commonly found in every county throughout the country.

Tit reveal