Willow Tit
Poecile montanus
About This Species
Look for this small, dull grey-brown tit in damp, mature woodland with plenty of standing dead wood, birch scrub and wet willow thickets, habitats it needs because it excavates its own nest hole in soft, rotten timber rather than using existing cavities. It resembles the marsh tit closely, but its nasal, buzzing call and slightly duller cap are the best clues to identity. Late winter and early spring, before leaves fill the canopy, make it easiest to track down by call.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- A few metres' distance with binoculars is plenty to watch normal foraging and calling without disturbance, and there is no need to approach a suspected nest hole, since flushing an incubating bird can lead to it abandoning the site.
- Wild birds and their nests are protected under national wildlife law across its European range, though the details differ by country.
- Avoid disturbing dead wood or old stumps that show signs of excavation, since these are likely nest sites.
LCAvesPasseriformesParidae
Seasonal Activity
998,305 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paridae
Photo
(c) Leonid, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Leonid
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.