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Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Poecile palustris

Identify the Marsh Tit by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Marsh Tit is a small tit of temperate Europe and eastern Asia with a glossy black cap, a small black bib, clean white cheeks and brown upperparts. Despite its name it lives in mature deciduous woodland rather than marshes. It closely resembles the Willow Tit and is most reliably told apart by voice. It has declined in parts of its range.

Did you know?

  • Despite its name, it is a bird of woods rather than marshes.
  • It was only formally separated from the Willow Tit in 1897.

Voice

Song
Call
Flight call

About the species

Identification

It resembles Willow Tit, but the wing lacks a pale panel and the crown is glossy black (duller in Willow Tit); the bib is smaller and neater. The bill may show a small pale spot at the base. The voice and song differ, and are the best way to separate them. The sexes look alike.

Family

Paridae

Size

Tiny (goldcrest)

Colours

grey, black, white, brown

About the habitat

Mature broadleaf and mixed woodland with dense undergrowth and old trees with holes, as well as old parks, orchards and wooded edges.

Diet

Insects, spiders and larvae in spring and summer; seeds of trees such as beech and hazel, berries and mast in autumn and winter. It caches many seeds and visits feeders.

Behaviour

Usually seen singly or in pairs, moving methodically through lower branches and shrubs. It keeps a territory year-round and hides surplus food in bark and moss, relocating it months later. It nests in existing tree holes or nest boxes, laying 5–9 eggs. Its call is an explosive “pitchoo”, and the song a clear, ringing rattle.

Sources

Photo: Stephan Sprinz, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sumpfmeise im NSG Hirschacker und Dossenwald 2.jpg

Sound: Pálos Lőrinc, XC639965, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/639965

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC954051, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/954051

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC730597, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/730597

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_tit

See also