SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: MARSH TIT v WILLOW TIT
MARSH TIT
Marsh Tits ( left) and Willow Tits (right) are a notoriously difficult species pair to separate in the field. This is particularly so in a British context as our peculiar subspecies of Willow Tit ( kleinschmidti) is even closer to the British (and western Brittany) subspecies Marsh Tit ( dresseri) in appearance than the other continental subspecies. Indeed, it was only as late as 1897 that it was realised that we had both species living in the UK ( previously, it was thought they were all Marsh Tits).
Voice is arguably the most reliable way to tell them apart. Unfortunately, there is even some overlap in calls. That said, in most cases the calls should be sufficient to identify the species with a sufficient amount of confidence. Marsh Tit has a sneezing ‘pitCHOO’ call, often
WILLOW TIT
followed by a rapid buzzing ‘chickadeedeedee’ (a similar call gives closely related species in North America the name chickadee). Willow Tits have a nasal, slightly buzzy and slower ‘ chay chay chay’ call.
In terms of appearance, you probably should follow a ‘suite’ of the following characters to distinguish the birds. Willow Tits look big-headed, an appearance exaggerated by the white cheeks extending further to the nape. They often have a pale panel along the secondary feathers in the wing (though this can be very subtle and Marsh Tits can show similar) and the warmer buff of the flanks is more similar in tone to the back. Crucially, Marsh Tit has a small white line near the base of the upper bill, near the cutting edge, a feature best seen in photos rather than in the field.