Parus Palustris
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The marsh tit (''Poecile palustris'') is a Eurasian
passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
bird in the tit family
Paridae The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Many were formerly classified in the genus ''Parus''. Eurasian and African members of this f ...
and
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Poecile ''Poecile'' is a genus of birds in the tit (bird), tit family Paridae. It contains 15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained ''Poe ...
'', closely related to the
willow tit The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and o ...
, Père David's and Songar tits. It is a small bird, around long and weighing , with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised. Its close resemblance to the willow tit can cause identification problems, especially in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
where the local
subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of the two are very similar: they were not recognised as separate species until 1897. Globally, the marsh tit is classified as
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
, although there is evidence of a decline in numbers (in the UK, numbers have dropped by more than 50% since the 1970s, for example). It can be found throughout temperate
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and northern
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and, despite its name, it occurs in a range of habitats including dry woodland. The marsh tit is
omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...
; its food includes
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
s,
spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...
s and seeds. It nests in tree holes, choosing existing hollows to enlarge, rather than excavating its own. A clutch of 5–9 eggs is laid.


Taxonomy and systematics

The marsh tit was
formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...
by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...
'' under the
binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...
''Parus palustris''. It is now placed in the
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Poecile ''Poecile'' is a genus of birds in the tit (bird), tit family Paridae. It contains 15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees. In the past, most authorities retained ''Poe ...
'' that was erected by the German naturalist
Johann Jakob Kaup Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup ...
in 1829. The genus name, ''Poecile'', is the
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
name for a now unidentifiable small bird, and is perhaps derived from ''poikolos'', meaning "spotted"; the specific ''palustris'' is
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for "marshy". An analysis of mitochrondrial DNA sequences has shown that the marsh tit belongs to a group of
Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...
n 'typical chickadees' that includes the
willow tit The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and o ...
, Père David's tit, the black-bibbed tit, and the Songar tit. Ten subspecies are recognised: * ''P. p. dresseri'' ( Stejneger, 1886) – central and southern England, Wales] and west France. Still present in the far south-east of Scotland but in small numbers. Slightly smaller than ''palustris'' and more brown or olive-coloured on upperparts and dirtier below. Pale brown tertial fringes can sometimes cause confusion with willow tit * ''P. p. palustris'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – north and central Europe, from south Scandinavia south to north Iberian Peninsula, Iberia, east to central Poland, west
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
and Greece * ''P. p. italicus'' ( Tschusi &
Hellmayr Carl Eduard Hellmayr (29 January 1878 – 24 February 1944) was an Austrian ornithologist. Biography Hellmayr was born in Vienna and studied at the University of Vienna, although he did not complete his degree. After his studies he worked in Vie ...
, 1900) – French
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
, Italy and
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. As ''dresseri'', but more rufous on upperparts and paler on underparts In Sicily, it was described the subspecies siculus (De Burg, 1925) considered synonymic with italicus by Vaurie (1959), and subsequently forgotten by most authors. However, in a typical cline pale-dark/north-south all over Europe, and along the Italian peninsula too, where darkest birds are in the Alpine area and palest (as pale as nominate subsp.) in Calabria, the Sicilian very isolated and relict population is composed by the smallest and darkest birds in Europe, therefore rather out of the clinal gradient/intergrade populations. It should deserve better and in depth study before being in synonymized (Priolo, 1969; Corso, 2005; A.Corso, pers. obs.) * ''P. p. stagnatilis'' ( Brehm, CL, 1855) – east Europe east to south
Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.
and northwest Turkey * ''P. p. kabardensis'' (
Buturlin Buturlin, feminine: Buturlina () is a Russian surname of a Russian nobility, Russian noble . Notable people with this surname include: * Alexander Buturlin (1694–1767), a Russian general * Anna Artemevna Buturlina (1777–1854), Russian artist an ...
, 1929) –
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
and northeast Turkey * ''P. p. brevirostris''
Taczanowski Taczanowski (Polish feminine: Taczanowska; plural: Taczanowscy) is the surname of a Polish szlachta (nobility) family from Poznań bearing the Jastrzębiec coat of arms and the motto: ''Plus penser que dire''. They took their name from their ...
, 1872 – south central & southeast
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, north
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
, northeast China and North Korea * ''P. p. ernsti'' ( Yamashina, 1933) –
Sakhalin Island Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...
* ''P. p. hensoni'' (Stejneger, 1892) – south
Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...
and
Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
* ''P. p. jeholicus'' ( Kleinschmidt, O & Weigold, 1922) – northeast China and North Korea * ''P. p. hellmayri'' Bianchi, 1903 – east China and South Korea


Description

The nominate race has a black cap and nape with a blue sheen visible at close quarters. The black 'bib' below the bill is rather small; the cheeks are white, turning dusky brown on the ear coverts. The upperparts, tail and wings are greyish-brown, with slightly paler fringes to the tertials. The underparts are off-white with a buff or brown tinge strongest on the flanks and undertail coverts. The bill is black and the legs dark grey. Juveniles are very similar to adults, but with a duller black cap and bib, more greyish upperparts and paler underparts; they moult into adult plumage by September. The marsh tit weighs , has a length of (from bill to tail) and a wingspan of . The wing length ranges from . The oldest recorded marsh tit in Europe reached the age of 11 years, 11 months. Like other tits it has a large range of call notes; most typical is the explosive "pitchou" note, given when agitated, often leading into "pitchou-bee-bee-bee", which can sound like
willow tit The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and o ...
when not heard clearly. Unlike many other tits, however, the marsh tit has a well-defined song and a wide song repertoire. Individual birds can have more than five songs, which they use interchangeably. Some of the more common songs include a typical tit-like, ringing, "schip-schip-schip-schip-ship", a more liquid "tu-tu-tu-tu-tu" and sometimes a sweet "tyeu-tyeu-tyeu-tyeu-tyeu". The old
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
name for the species, 'Saw Whetter', refers to the bird's scolding call. Marsh and willow tits are difficult to distinguish on appearance alone; the races occurring in the UK (''P. p. dresseri'' and ''P. m. kleinschmidti'' respectively) are especially hard to separate. When caught for
ringing Ringing may mean: Vibrations * Ringing (signal), unwanted oscillation of a signal, leading to ringing artifacts * Vibration of a harmonic oscillator ** Bell ringing * Ringing (telephony), the sound of a telephone bell * Ringing (medicine), a ri ...
, the pale 'cutting edge' of the marsh tit's bill is a reliable criterion; otherwise, the best way to tell apart the two species is by voice. Plumage characteristics include the lack of a pale wing panel (formed by pale edges to the secondary feathers in the willow tit), the marsh tit's glossier black cap and smaller black 'bib', although none of these is 'completely reliable'; for example, juvenile marsh tits can show a pale wing panel. The marsh tit has a noticeably smaller and shorter head than the willow tit and overall the markings are crisp and neat, with the head in proportion to the rest of the bird (
willow tit The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and o ...
gives the impression of being 'bull-necked'). A measure of the difficulty in identification is given by the fact that, in the UK, the willow tit was not identified as distinct from marsh tit until 1897. Two
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
s,
Ernst Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married the illustrat ...
and
Otto Kleinschmidt Otto Kleinschmidt (13 December 1870 – 25 March 1954) was a German Ornithology, ornithologist, Theology, theologist and pastor. He was also an artist and taxidermist who produced specimens and illustrations of birds for his writings. He was crit ...
, were studying marsh tit skins at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
and found two wrongly-labelled willow tits amongst them (two willow tit specimens were then collected at Coalfall Wood in
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...
, north
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and that species was added to the British list in 1900).


Distribution and habitat

The marsh tit has a worldwide Extent of Occurrence of around 10 million square kilometres. The global population includes between 6.1 million and 12 million birds in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
alone. The species is classified as
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
, though there is some evidence of a decline in numbers. For example, between the 1970s and 2007, marsh tit numbers declined in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by more than 50% and consequently it is on the Red List of species compiled by the UK's
Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the Government of the United Kingdom and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Pro ...
. Research suggests that the cause may be low survival rates from year to year, though the nest failure rate has fallen during the decline. Other studies have shown that reduced diversity of woodland structure and plant species, partly because of the impact of deer browsing, is the cause of the bird's decline. Data from 157 woodlands covered by the
RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...
/ BTO Repeat Woodland Bird Survey showed that the abundance of marsh tits in 2003–2004 corresponded with the vegetation present 2–4 metres above the ground, the
shrub layer In ecology, stratification refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to which their p ...
. Data from the 1980s did not show the same results, but marsh tit numbers had increased by 2003–2004 in woods with the most shrub cover. The study concluded that damage to the shrub layer, caused by
overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...
by deer, for example, may make woodland less suitable for marsh tits. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and northern
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. It occurs from northern Spain north to south-eastern
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and east to western
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, with a broad gap in western Asia and present again in eastern Asia from the
Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...
east to northern
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and northern and western
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. This species is sedentary, making short post-breeding movements in most of its range, but in northern Europe some move southward in winter. However, marsh tits seem not to perform the occasional
irruption Animal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migration in ecology. It is found in all major animal groups, including birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, ...
s that other members of the tit family do. Most marsh tits stay in their breeding territories year-round; presumably this is related to their food-storing strategy. Analysis of UK
ringing Ringing may mean: Vibrations * Ringing (signal), unwanted oscillation of a signal, leading to ringing artifacts * Vibration of a harmonic oscillator ** Bell ringing * Ringing (telephony), the sound of a telephone bell * Ringing (medicine), a ri ...
data showed that of 108 recoveries (when a ringed bird is found dead or caught by another ringer), 85% were less than 5 km from where the bird was originally caught, and only 1% further than 20 km. Young birds join mixed roaming flocks; adults also join the flocks when they pass through, but do not stray from their territory. Marsh tits breed mostly in lowland areas, but can reach altitudes of up to 1,300 m. They prefer large areas of moist, broadleaved woodland, often
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
or
beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
, though they can occupy wet
alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
woodland, riverside trees, parks and gardens or orchards. A study at Monks Wood,
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
, England, found that marsh tits required mature trees with a shrub layer below the canopy, but that they avoided parts of the wood with many young trees. Another study in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
found that during winter and while foraging, marsh tits spent more time than
blue tit The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognizable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size. Eurasian blue tits, usually resident bird, resident a ...
s in the wood's understorey, and more time lower in the woodland canopy and understorey. Trees and shrubs in 10 breeding territories were also compared. The trees varied significantly between territories, but the shrub characteristics did not, suggesting that the shrubs were more important to the birds. In
Wytham Woods Wytham Woods is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site. Habitats in this site, which formerly belonged to Abingdon Abbey, include ancient woodland and limest ...
,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, marsh tits were "largely absent" from parts of the wood with a dense canopy but poor shrub cover.


Behaviour and ecology

In mixed winter tit flocks, seldom more than one or two marsh tits are present, and parties of this species alone are infrequent. Its performances in the bushes and branches are just as neat and agile as those of other tits; it often hangs upside down by one leg.


Breeding

Marsh tits are monogamous and often pair for life; one pair stayed together for six years. In Europe, hybridisation with the willow tit has been recorded twice. The nest site is in a hole, usually in a tree but sometimes in a wall or in the ground.
Nestbox A nest box, also spelled nestbox, is a man-made enclosure provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses or a birdbox/bird box, but some mammals such as bats ma ...
es may be used. Old
willow tit The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and o ...
holes may be used and enlarged further. Marsh tits do not usually excavate their own nest holes, though they may enlarge the hollow, carrying the chips to a distance before dropping them. The hole may be within a centimetres or two of the ground or high as . Inside the hole, a nest of moss is made and lined with hair and sometimes a few feathers; of moss is used in damp holes, but much less in dry ones. Between five and nine white and red-speckled
egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
s are laid late in April or in May, measuring and weighing each, of which 6% is shell. The eggs are incubated by the female for 14–16 days; incubation begins before the clutch is complete, meaning that the chicks hatch over a period of around two days. She sits closely and gives a typical tit "hissing display" if disturbed. The male helps to feed and care for the young and brings nearly all the food for the first four days after hatching. The
altricial Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...
, downy chicks
fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between egg, hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnera ...
after 18–21 days. The fledglings are fed by their parents for a week and become independent after a further 1–7 days. The family stays together for between 11 and 15 days after the first flights of the juveniles. Second broods have been recorded, though they are extremely rare in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
; most are replacement clutches. A study of marsh tits in
Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex on the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, looked at which factors affected birds' choice to re-occupy a nest hole used the previous year. It found that 35.5% of available holes were used again the following year, and that holes where a brood had failed were less likely to be re-used. A study in Bourton Woods,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, England, found that nestboxes were used by marsh tits in successive years in only 20% of cases.


Food and feeding

Mostly
spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...
s and
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s are eaten in spring and summer, but seeds – including those of the
thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...
– nuts and berries are taken in autumn and winter. Beechmast is the preferred food when it can be found. Marsh tits often take seeds and fruit from the plant before taking them to eat elsewhere. Marsh tits collect and store large numbers of seeds. For a study in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, birds were watched for two hours 15 minutes. They ate 43 and cached 83 seeds per hour. In
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, storing food is most frequent between September and late February, with the peak in this behaviour occurring from September to October. Hiding places for the seeds include on and in the ground, in
leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...
, in tree stumps, and under moss and
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
in trees. The hidden seeds are prone to being stolen, by other marsh tits or other species, so birds often fly from one site to another before deciding on a hiding place. They tend to retrieve the oldest items first, and memorise their location rather than searching randomly or checking systematically. The marsh tit's
hippocampus The hippocampus (: hippocampi; via Latin from Ancient Greek, Greek , 'seahorse'), also hippocampus proper, is a major component of the brain of humans and many other vertebrates. In the human brain the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus, and the ...
is 31% bigger than that of the
great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of No ...
, despite the great tit's larger overall size and larger
forebrain In the anatomy of the brain of vertebrates, the forebrain or prosencephalon is the rostral (forward-most) portion of the brain. The forebrain controls body temperature, reproductive functions, eating, sleeping, and the display of emotions. Ve ...
; the relative volume of this part of the brain is greater in birds that cache food.


References


External links

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Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the marsh tit
{{Taxonbar, from=Q207838 Birds of Eurasia Birds of East Asia Birds of Mongolia Poecile Birds described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus