Marsh tit
Poecile palustris (Linnaeus, 1758)
The marsh tit (Poecile palustris) is a bird in the family Paridae and order Passeriformes, part of the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 11.14 g, up to 11.9 g, and a wingspan of 19 cm.
Quick facts about the marsh tit
The marsh tit is an invertivore at the omnivore trophic level; it lives in forest habitat, has a perching lifestyle and is sedentary. It lays 8 eggs per clutch with 1 clutch per year, the eggs are incubated for 14 days, and the species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 11.1 g – 11.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 12 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 19 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 11.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 14 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7.1 – 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the marsh tit?
Photos of the marsh tit
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the marsh tit live?
Not recorded
What is the marsh tit?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Marsh tit” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marsh_tit&oldid=1360887406), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the marsh tit endangered?
The marsh tit is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the marsh tit classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyParidae
- genusPoecile
- SpeciesPoecile palustris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Parus palustris
Other names and names in other languages (75)
- قرقف المستنقعاتArabic
- beranín ratínAsturian
- Ҡарабаш тебейекBashkir
- Сівая сініцаBelarusian
- Сiвая сiнiцаBelarusian
- Лъскавоглав синигерBulgarian
- Pennduig ar wernBreton
- Pennduig-ar-wernBreton
- mallerenga d'aiguaCatalan
- Шим вуян кӹсиӓMari
- Шурлӑх кӑсӑйиChuvash
- sýkora babkaCzech
- Błotnô sykórkaKashubian
- Titw'r WernWelsh
- Titwod y WernWelsh
- SumpmejseDanish
- SumpfmeiseGerman
- NonnenmeiseGerman
- ΚαστανοπαπαδίτσαGreek
- MarĉoparuoEsperanto
- marĉa paruoEsperanto
- Carbonero palustreSpanish
- salutihane e. sootihaneEstonian
- salutihaneEstonian
- sootihaneEstonian
- Kaskabeltz txikiBasque
- چرخریسک مردابیPersian
- viitatiainenFinnish
- Mésange nonnetteFrench
- Meantán lathaíIrish
- Cailleachag cheann-dubhScottish Gaelic
- Ferreiriño palustreGalician
- Myntan curreeManx
- ירגזי ביצותHebrew
- crnoglava sjenicaCroatian
- barátcinegeHungarian
- LaufmeisaIcelandic
- Cincia bigiaItalian
- ハシブトガラJapanese
- ЦӀыжьдадэщхьэфӀыцӀэKabardian
- Шєже шымшықKazakh
- Қарабас шєжеKazakh
- Қарабас шөжеKazakh
- 쇠박새Korean
- Penglow gwernCornish
- Gro MeesLuxembourgish
- paprastoji pilkoji zylėLithuanian
- purva zīlīteLatvian
- мала црноглава сипкаMacedonian
- GlanskopDutch
- lauvmeisNorwegian Nynorsk
- løvmeisNorwegian
- MongetaOccitan
- sikora ubogaPolish
- chapim-palustrePortuguese
- Piţigoi surRomanian
- серый слепухRussian
- Болотная гаичкаRussian
- Черноголовая гаичкаRussian
- Болотна синицяRusyn
- RohtogaccetNorthern Sami
- lastagaccetNorthern Sami
- soahkegaccetNorthern Sami
- sýkorka hôrnaSlovak
- močvirska sinicaSlovenian
- Сива сеницаSerbian
- Siva senicaSerbian
- entitaSwedish
- kärrmesSwedish
- Kayın BaştankarasıTurkish
- Bataklık baştankarasıTurkish
- ГаїчкаUkrainian
- гаїчка болотянаUkrainian
- 沼泽山雀Chinese
- 沼澤山雀Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the marsh tit
Other species in the same genus Poecile.
Willow tit
Poecile montanus
Sombre tit
Poecile lugubris
Alaska Chickadee
Poecile cinctus
Northern Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
Mountain Chickadee
Poecile gambeli
Pere David's tit
Poecile davidi
CompareMarsh tit vs Willow titMarsh tit vs Sombre titMarsh tit vs Alaska ChickadeeMarsh tit vs Northern Chickadee
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is a marsh tit?
An adult Marsh tit has a body mass of 11.14 g, with values up to 11.9 g reported. Its wingspan is 19 cm.
What does the marsh tit eat?
The marsh tit is classed as an invertivore, with a trophic level of omnivore.
What habitat does the marsh tit live in?
The marsh tit lives in forest habitat, has a perching lifestyle and is sedentary.
Is the marsh tit endangered?
No. The marsh tit is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a marsh tit live?
The marsh tit has a lifespan of 11.9 years, with values up to 11.92 years reported.
How many eggs does a marsh tit lay?
The marsh tit lays 8 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 14 days.
When does a marsh tit reach sexual maturity?
The marsh tit reaches sexual maturity at 364.6 days, with reported values from 364.2 to 365 days (1 year).
Who named the marsh tit?
The marsh tit, Poecile palustris, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Marsh tit (Poecile palustris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-tit
“Marsh tit (Poecile palustris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-tit.
@misc{marsh_tit_2026,
title = {Marsh tit (Poecile palustris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-tit},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}