Poecile palustris
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The marsh tit (Poecile palustris) is a Eurasian passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus Poecile, closely related to the willow tit, Père David's and Songar tits. It is a small bird, around 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighing 12 g (0.42 oz), 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 where the local subspecies of the two are very similar; 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 caterpillars, spiders 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 was formally described... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 2 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 3 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 4 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 12 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 16 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 17 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Tit sighting in Białowieża National Park on a given day, based on 432 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 182 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Tit in Białowieża National Park on a given day, against about 20% in September, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Marsh Tit sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Marsh Tit sightings, Białowieża National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Marsh Tit is recorded against all the birds logged in Białowieża National Park (432 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
