Marsh tit or coal tit? (1 Viewer)

[JayFeatherPL]

North-eastern Poland, 23rd of April, 6 p.m, It was in the garden near forest with swamp. The weather was warm and sunny. There is European greenfinch singing in the background.
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[Butty]

Why one of those two? - did you see it?
Great tit?

 

[01101001]

Here's a rough description of a Coal Tit's song as opposed to a Great Tit's song: 'higher and faster and a bit slurred' (from Different Tits & How to Tell the Apart | Bird ID - The RSPB):

Marsh Tits are only occassionally heard singing, and, even then, they should be more easily identified by their call (i.e. Willow Tit should be more of a confusion species than Coal Tit):

Here's also a video about seperating Marsh Tit and Coal Tit by appearance and call:

In case of uncertainty, you can also check your assumption with what one of the voice recognition apps: BirdNET Sound ID – The easiest way to identify birds by sound. & Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab - Apps on Google Play, but these apps also make mistakes (BirdNET more frequently than Merlin), so always best check your ID with both of the above, and, if you're not certain, also compare the sound with other recordings of the species or check whether it matches the written description (here the description would be: 'higher and faster and a bit slurred').

 

[JayFeatherPL]

So what is it? Great tit? I didnt see the bird

 

[pianoman]

I can say it's not Great Tit - it sounds exactly like Coal Tit, but we don't get Marsh Tit where I am so I don't know how similar the call is.

 

[Redmist]

Sounds like great tit to me, it doesn't have the "squeakiness" of a coal tit. I've only heard marsh tit calling, but from recordings I have listenedd to the marsh tit song also seems quite different from your bird,

 

[paddyluke]

Great Tit

 

[jalid]

Yes, Great Tit. Coal Tit faster, higher and thinner. Marsh Tit may have very much this same rhythm, but the tone of the song is quite different, more like its call.

 

[pianoman]

Yes, now that I listen again, the tone is lower than Coal Tit. But a little faster and higher than my local Great Tits - maybe it's local dialects!

 

[Butty]

a little faster and higher than my local Great Tits

When identifying a great tit's call, one thing you shouldn't expect it to sound like is a great tit call that you already know.