Coal Tit or Pied Wagtail?

These two get mixed up constantly. Here is what actually separates them, taken from each bird's own page.

Reported as a small black-and-white bird, but a coal tit is short-tailed and round, feeds in trees and on hanging feeders, and hops. A pied wagtail is long, slim, long-tailed, feeds on open ground and walks. Behaviour separates them before plumage does.

Side by side

	Coal Tit	Pied Wagtail
Size	About 11cm — the smallest UK tit, clearly smaller than a blue tit and much smaller than a robin.	Robin length in the body, but the long tail makes it look bigger — around 18cm overall, and far slimmer.
Where you'll see it	Briefly at feeders, and in conifers and tall trees; it seldom stays put for more than a second or two.	Short grass, paths, drives, car parks, flat roofs and the edges of ponds and puddles. Not on hanging feeders.
What it eats	Insects and spiders in summer, conifer seed in winter, plus sunflower hearts and peanut fragments it carries away.	Insects, particularly flies, taken from open ground or caught in short fluttering chases; some seed in hard weather.
When	Resident all year; most obvious in autumn and winter when it is actively hoarding food.	Resident all year. In winter birds feed alone by day and gather in large communal roosts at dusk.
Status	Green listed	Green listed

Still not sure? Describe what you saw and we will rank every garden bird against it — including these two.

Both descriptions are taken from the species pages, which cite the BTO and RSPB. Reviewed 2026-09-20.