Marsh Tit
Encyclopedia
The Marsh Tit Poecile palustris is a passerine
bird in the tit family Paridae and genus
Poecile
, closely related to the Willow
, Père David's and Songar Tit
s. It is small (around 12 cm long and weighing 12 g) with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised. This bird's close resemblance to the Willow Tit can cause identification problems, especially in the United Kingdom
where the local subspecies
of the two are very similar (there, they were not recognised as separate species until 1897).
Globally, the Marsh Tit is classified as Least Concern
, 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
and northern Asia
and, despite its name, it occurs in a range of habitats including dry woodland. The Marsh Tit is omnivorous
; its food includes caterpillar
s, spider
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.
The Marsh Tit weighs 12 g, is 11.5 to 12 cm long (from bill to tail) and the wingspan is 19 cm. Wing length ranges from 60–70 mm. The oldest recorded Marsh Tit in Europe reached the age of 11 years, 11 months.
Marsh and Willow Tits are difficult to identify 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
, 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
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
ornithologists, Ernst Hartert
and Otto Kleinschmidt
, were studying Marsh Tit skins at the British Museum
and found two wrongly-labelled Willow Tits amongst them (two Willow Tit specimens were then collected at Coalfall Wood in Finchley
, north London
, and that species was added to the British list in 1900).
as a subgenus within the genus Parus
, but the American Ornithologists' Union
treats it as a distinct genus
. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome b
sequence
analysis; within Poecile, the Marsh Tit is part of a group of Eurasia
n 'typical chickadees' that includes also the Willow Tit
, Père David's Tit, and the Songar Tit
.
The scientific name
is derived from the Greek
poikolos, meaning 'spotted', and Latin palus, meaning 'marsh'. The number of subspecies recognised varies between authorities. Some, such as The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World
list eight worldwide; The Handbook of the Birds of the World
lists 11:
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
alone. The species is classified as Least Concern
, 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
by more than 50 % and consequently it is on the Red List of species compiled by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee
. 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/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
. 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 by deer, for example, may make woodland less suitable for Marsh Tits.
It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate Europe
and northern Asia
. It occurs from northern Spain north to south-eastern Scotland
and east to western Russia
, with a broad gap in western Asia and present again in eastern Asia from the Altai Mountains east to northern Japan
and northern and western China
.
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 irruptions 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
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 or beech
, though they can occupy wet alder
woodland, riverside trees, parks and gardens or orchards. A study at Monks Wood
, Cambridgeshire
, England, found that Marsh Tits required mature trees with a shrub layer below the canopy, but that they avoided parts of the wood with lots of young trees. Another study in the United Kingdom
found that during winter and while foraging, Marsh Tits spent more time than Blue Tit
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
, Oxfordshire
, Marsh Tits were "largely absent" from parts of the wood with a dense canopy but poor shrub cover.
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.
Like the 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
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
name for the species, 'Saw Whetter', refers to the bird's scolding call.
s and insect
s are eaten in spring and summer, but seeds - including those of the thistle
- 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
, birds were watched for two hours 15 minutes. They ate 43 and cached 83 seeds per hour. In Sweden
, 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, in tree stumps, and under moss and lichen
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
is 31 % bigger than that of the Great Tit
, despite the Great Tit's larger overall size and larger forebrain; the relative volume of this part of the brain is greater in birds that cache food.
The nest site is in a hole, usually in a tree but sometimes in a wall or in the ground. Nestboxes may be used. Old Willow Tit
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 10 m. Inside the hole, a nest of moss is made and lined with hair and sometimes a few feathers; 20 cm of moss is used in damp holes, but much less in dry ones.
Between five and nine white and red-speckled egg
s are laid late in April or in May, measuring 16 x 12 mm and weighing 1.2 g each (of which 6 % is shell). They 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
, downy chicks fledge
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 11–15 days after the first flights of the juveniles. Second broods have been recorded, though they are extremely rare in Britain
; most are replacement clutches.
A study of Marsh Tits in Białowieża Forest, Poland
, 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
, England, found that nestboxes were used by Marsh Tits in successive years in only 20 % of cases.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird in the tit family Paridae and genus
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
Poecile
Poecile
Poecile is a genus of bird in the tit family that is often lumped into the genus Parus. It has 13–15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees...
, closely related to the Willow
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
, Père David's and Songar Tit
Songar Tit
The Songar Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family. It is the southern counterpart of the Willow Tit P...
s. It is small (around 12 cm long and weighing 12 g) with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised. This bird's close resemblance to the Willow Tit can cause identification problems, especially in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where the local subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the two are very similar (there, they were not recognised as separate species until 1897).
Globally, the Marsh Tit is classified as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
, 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
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and northern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and, despite its name, it occurs in a range of habitats including dry woodland. The Marsh Tit is omnivorous
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
; its food includes caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
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.
Description
Nominate race palustris: 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 12 g, is 11.5 to 12 cm long (from bill to tail) and the wingspan is 19 cm. Wing length ranges from 60–70 mm. The oldest recorded Marsh Tit in Europe reached the age of 11 years, 11 months.
Bird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
, 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
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
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
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
ornithologists, Ernst Hartert
Ernst Hartert
Ernst Johann Otto Hartert was a German ornithologist. Hartert was born in Hamburg. He was employed by Lionel Walter Rothschild as ornithological curator of his private museum at Tring from 1892 to 1929....
and Otto Kleinschmidt
Otto Kleinschmidt
Otto Kleinschmidt was a German theologist, pastor and ornithologist. He introduced a typological species concept into German ornithology. His Formenkreis theory influenced the early ideas of Erwin Stresemann. Others have considered him one of the first biogeographers...
, were studying Marsh Tit skins at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and found two wrongly-labelled Willow Tits amongst them (two Willow Tit specimens were then collected at Coalfall Wood in Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and that species was added to the British list in 1900).
Systematics
Most authorities retain PoecilePoecile
Poecile is a genus of bird in the tit family that is often lumped into the genus Parus. It has 13–15 species, which are scattered across North America, Europe and Asia; the North American species are the chickadees...
as a subgenus within the genus Parus
Parus
Parus is a genus of Old World birds in the tit family. As defined here, it contains the following species:* Genus Parus** White-shouldered Tit Parus guineensis, sometimes separated in Melaniparus...
, but the American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
treats it as a distinct genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome b
Cytochrome b
Cytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...
sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
analysis; within Poecile, the Marsh Tit is part of a group of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n 'typical chickadees' that includes also the Willow Tit
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
, Père David's Tit, and the Songar Tit
Songar Tit
The Songar Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family. It is the southern counterpart of the Willow Tit P...
.
The scientific name
Binomial nomenclature
Binomial 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, although they can be based on words from other languages...
is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
poikolos, meaning 'spotted', and Latin palus, meaning 'marsh'. The number of subspecies recognised varies between authorities. Some, such as The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world.It is currently in its sixth edition , and is being published by Cornell University Press. Previous editions were published by the author's own imprint, Ibis Publishing. An...
list eight worldwide; The Handbook of the Birds of the World
Handbook of the Birds of the World
The Handbook of the Birds of the World is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series is edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A Christie.So far, 15...
lists 11:
- P. p. dresseri, found in central & S England, WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and W France. 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, N & C Europe, from S Scandinavia S to N IberiaIberian PeninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, E to central PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, W BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... - P. p. italicus, French AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. As dresseri, but more rufous on upperparts and paler on underparts - P. p. stagnatilis, E Europe E to S Urals and NW TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
- P. p. kabardensis, CaucasusCaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and NE Turkey. - P. p. brevirostris, S central & SE SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, N MongoliaMongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, NE ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and N KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the... - P. p. jeholicus, NE China
- P. p. hellmayri, E China and S Korea.
- P. p. hypermelaenus, N central & S China and W Burma. Sometimes considered a distinct species, the Black-bibbed Tit Poecile hypermelaenus. It has a larger area of black on the throat and upper breast.
- P. p. ernsti, Sakhalin Island
- P. p. hensoni, S Kuril IslandsKuril IslandsThe Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
and HokkaidoHokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
Distribution and habitat
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
alone. The species is classified as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
, 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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by more than 50 % and consequently it is on the Red List of species compiled by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is the statutory adviser to the UK Government on national and international nature conservation. Its work contributes to maintaining and enriching biological diversity, conserving geological features and sustaining natural systems...
. 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/BTO
British Trust for Ornithology
The British Trust for Ornithology is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles.-Activities:The BTO carries out research into the lives of birds, chiefly by conducting population and breeding surveys and by bird ringing, largely carried out by a large number of...
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
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 33 to 66 m high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to...
. 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 by deer, for example, may make woodland less suitable for Marsh Tits.
It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and northern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It occurs from northern Spain north to south-eastern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and east to western Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, with a broad gap in western Asia and present again in eastern Asia from the Altai Mountains east to northern Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and northern and western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
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 irruptions 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
Bird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
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 or beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
, though they can occupy wet alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
woodland, riverside trees, parks and gardens or orchards. A study at Monks Wood
Monks Wood
Monks Wood is a woodland in Cambridgeshire, England. It was designated a National Nature Reserve in 1953 and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It has been described as "one of the best examples of ancient ash-oak woodland in the East Midlands"....
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England, found that Marsh Tits required mature trees with a shrub layer below the canopy, but that they avoided parts of the wood with lots of young trees. Another study in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
found that during winter and while foraging, Marsh Tits spent more time than Blue Tit
Blue Tit
The Blue Tit is a 10.5 to 12 cm long passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands...
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
Wytham is a village and civil parish on Seacourt Stream, a branch of the River Thames, about northwest of Oxford. It is just west of the Western By-Pass Road, part of the Oxford Ring Road ....
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, Marsh Tits were "largely absent" from parts of the wood with a dense canopy but poor shrub cover.
Behaviour
Like the 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
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
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
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
name for the species, 'Saw Whetter', refers to the bird's scolding call.
Food and feeding
Mostly spiderSpider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s are eaten in spring and summer, but seeds - including those of the thistle
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
- 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
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, birds were watched for two hours 15 minutes. They ate 43 and cached 83 seeds per hour. In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, 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, in tree stumps, and under moss and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
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
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...
is 31 % bigger than that of the Great Tit
Great Tit
The Great Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa in any sort of woodland. It is generally resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate except in extremely...
, despite the Great Tit's larger overall size and larger forebrain; the relative volume of this part of the brain is greater in birds that cache food.
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. Nestboxes may be used. Old Willow Tit
Willow Tit
The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...
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 10 m. Inside the hole, a nest of moss is made and lined with hair and sometimes a few feathers; 20 cm of moss is used in damp holes, but much less in dry ones.
Between five and nine white and red-speckled egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s are laid late in April or in May, measuring 16 x 12 mm and weighing 1.2 g each (of which 6 % is shell). They 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
Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
, downy chicks fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
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 11–15 days after the first flights of the juveniles. Second broods have been recorded, though they are extremely rare in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
; most are replacement clutches.
A study of Marsh Tits in Białowieża Forest, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, 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
Bourton-on-the-Hill
Bourton-on-the-Hill is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about two miles west of Moreton-in-Marsh. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 309....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England, found that nestboxes were used by Marsh Tits in successive years in only 20 % of cases.