Tits are small birds with plain or colourful plumages, stout legs and strong feet and short, triangular bills. Several species have crests.

In the UK, six species breed (plus one unrelated species in reedbeds); there are a few more in Europe and Asia, plus others in Africa and the Americas. They are social, often in mixed flocks, but territorial when nesting. They are among the most persistent and successful visitors to garden feeders.