The great tit is one of the most studied birds in the world, with long-term research at Wytham Woods revealing the complex relationship between great tit welfare, caterpillar timing, and climate change in extraordinary detail.
Great tit welfare is closely monitored through the Wytham Woods long-term study, which has revealed that climate change is causing increasing phenological mismatch between breeding timing and caterpillar emergence. Birds that breed too early or too late relative to caterpillar peaks raise fewer chicks. Feeder disease transmission, especially trichomonosis, is an emerging welfare concern. The intelligence and social learning ability of great tits means they are likely to experience complex welfare states including frustration, learning satisfaction, and social stress.