Willow tit Pennington Flash, Gtr Manchester (1 Viewer)

[Earnest lad]

Please may I request comments on the two photo's below of the same bird, which were taken earlier today at the Pennington Flash Country Park. I do know this bird has to be a Willow tit, because Marsh tits aren't found at that venue and it is a known site for Willow tit.
However I wish to climb the learning curve for future reference, and would like to enquire - apart from the obvious "pale panel on the wing" that points to Willow tit, are there any other features on the photo's that would indicate Willow tit and not Marsh tit.
With thanks and apologies for poor quality of photographs.

 

[KenM]

Head relative to body (excluding tail) is c45%, a good visual indicator also...although not seen very well, lack of pale contrasting proximal spot to upper mandible, and I find that they never look as clean and contrasty as Marsh Tit.

Cheers

 

[THE_FERN]

Please may I request comments on the two photo's below of the same bird, which were taken earlier today at the Pennington Flash Country Park. I do know this bird has to be a Willow tit, because Marsh tits aren't found at that venue and it is a known site for Willow tit.
However I wish to climb the learning curve for future reference, and would like to enquire - apart from the obvious "pale panel on the wing" that points to Willow tit, are there any other features on the photo's that would indicate Willow tit and not Marsh tit.
With thanks and apologies for poor quality of photographs.

>>"because Marsh tits aren't found at that venue"
Apparently not entirely true: http://www.leighos.org.uk/2015/11/the-marsh-tit-locally-and-regionally.html

This: http://www.narvos.org.uk/assets/images-2/WILTI-marsh-and-willow-2-1388958527.jpg

strikes me as a pretty good visual summary. Marsh tit on the left where you can just about see the bill spot. Also the cheek colour, cap glossiness etc. but telling the difference between the two is a very frequent id request on BF. See this:

https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=107725

 

[Earnest lad]

Thank you both. I perceive the willow tit/marsh tit id is a difficult one in terms of getting it 100 percent definite. But expert birders usually clinch it with several indicators not just one eg call/pale bill base/pale wing panel/extent of white on cheeks and others.
I guess another way is if you see it at the nest because apparently the nesting is different
I shall mark it down as a Willow tit, and continue to try and get to grips with the conundrum