Which tit — marsh or willow?

WILD BIRDS

Can you tell me whether the bird in my photograph (above) is a marsh tit or a willow tit? I photographed it in my garden in North Yorkshire.

Our two black-headed tits, marsh and willow, are so similar in appearance that they can be tricky to differentiate. They were once thought to be the same species, and it wasn’t until 1900 that the presence of willow tits was first proved in the UK.

The easiest way to tell the two apart is by voice: the willow tit has a harsh, drawn-out call that sounds rather like that of a jay. The marsh tit’s characteristic call is a loud, explosive “pitchay”.

Visually, the willow tit appears to be a slightly bulkier bird than a marsh tit, with a distinctive bull neck. The black feathers on the head are dull, unlike the shiny cap of the marsh tit, but this is not always easy to see. The willow tit usually has a slightly larger black bib than the marsh. Thus the bird in your photograph appears to be a willow tit. It is a bird that has suffered a sharp decline in the UK, having disappeared almost entirely from south-eastern England. DT

Willow tits are slightly bulkier than marsh tits, but voice is the easiest way to tell the two species apart