Species:

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris)

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Length (cm):
18-19
11-11
Wingspan (cm):
25-27
18-19
Weight (gram):
14-22
10-13
Size group:
Sparrow-size
Warbler-size
Main Texts:
Appearance:

Elegant and very long-tailed wagtail. Vent always bright yellow in all plumages. Legs pinkish flesh-coloured, not black. Wings with single white bar, visible both from below and above. Male with black throat in summer. Constantly wags tail, often in a more horizontal posture than congeners. Flight more attenuated and more bounding than in other wagtails. Attached to water and streams.

Sound:

Contact call short, metallic and with a clipped ending. Often disyllabic, "tzeet-tzeet", with each syllable more separated than in White Wagtail, and timbre more "dirty". Song simple but variable. Often starts with the contact call, followed by short melodic phrases. Sometimes with more elaborate song-flight like White Wagtail.

Contact call, flight call:

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See sound file


Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

Glossy black hood and plain, pale brown upperparts. Cheeks brownish towards nape. Small, rounded, black bib. Small pale spot on base of upper mandible (often surprisingly visible, despite small size). Very similar to Willow Tit, especially British sub.sp. Willow tit has bigger head, not so glossy cap, whiter cheeks, larger bib and pale wing panel.

Sound:

Most easily identified by sound. Especially in areas where plumage is less distinct compared to Willow Tit, like in Britain. Most typical call an explosive, sneeze-like "pee-choo", starting high-pitched and ending on a lower note.

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See sound file


Also calls "chaa chaa chaa" but not so nasal and drawn-out as willow tit. Song: A simple one or two note call repeated in series. Usually rising slightly in pitch, and with a "liquid" quality. Sometimes also a ringing, vibrating song. Generally has a much sharper tone than the soft song of willow tit. Other calls: Various high pitched sound. Often quite explosive.
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Similar species (image):
Similar species (sound):
Silhouette Group:
Wagtail/pipit-like
Silhouette
Tit-like
Silhouette
Several different images of the species
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Several different sounds of the species
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file