How to distinguish coal tit's song from marsh tit's song? (1 Viewer)

[JayFeatherPL]

Marsh tit generally has a different song from coal tit, but sometimes it can imitate coal tit very well, so how can I distinguish these two birds? I'm attaching two recordings: the first two are coal tit's songs and the other two are marsh tit's songs. How can I distinguish these two calls?

 

[JayFeatherPL]

.

 

[JayFeatherPL]

?

 

[01101001]

With tits, maybe it's too hard to be of practical use (for now?)

Great Tit's mimicry of Blue Tit

Just a word of caution. There were actually two Great Tits making that call to each other. Tit identification by call back to square one (at least for me)?

www.birdforum.net

 

[Butty]

How can I distinguish these two calls?

(Unhelpfully,) you haven't given any background to them at all, but I assume that you made these recordings yourself, and that you identified the birds calling, at the time, in the field, visually and without doubt (if any of this is not the case then this matter is doubtfully worth considering).
Identifying bird sounds is not like identifying birds by sight and by their morphological features. It is not reasonable to think that similar sounds by different species must always be diagnosably different.

 

[01101001]

You'll probably have to record extensively, compare samples and try to figure it out. I doubt Merlin/BirdNET would get it right every time, and if it won't, it's a field open for further research.

My list of birds I don't tick on call includes: Blue Tit (churring alarm call), Bullfinch (nasal call), Long-tailed Tit (three-note whistled call), Marsh Tit vs Willow Tit (anything other than the diagnostic call), Coal Tit, tecking warblers, Goldcrest vs Firecrest, woodpeckers (other than Black or Wryneck or singing Picus sp.), Eurasian Treecreeper vs Blackbird, Chiffchaff vs Redstart (unless tecking heard), geese, waterfowl, and many others. Over time, I will be adding some species here and removing others, but--basically--you can't clinch the ID on every sound just like you can't visually ID a bird at every angle.

 

[Jos Stratford]

--being able to tick a species on sound alone is an exception rather than a rule.

I assume this meaning for yourself

 

[01101001]

I've managed to edit it out already before reading your reply 😅😌

I was subconsciously plagiarising Butty.

 

[JayFeatherPL]

Bullfinch (nasal call)

Marsh Tit vs Willow Tit

Sorry, but which bird calls are similar to bullfinch? I thought the bullfinch's call is unique. The same for willow tit, it's song and call are unique and no other bird sounds like that, I think...

 

[01101001]

Bullfinch can be reportedly mimicked by Great Tit; Willow Tit has two unique calls (vs one of Marsh Tit), not sure about the song

 

[JayFeatherPL]

Bullfinch can be reportedly mimicked by Great Tit; Willow Tit has two unique calls (vs one of Marsh Tit), not sure about the song

I think willow tit's nasal zi-zi-taah-taah-taah is unique, what about the second call? And I think the song (piercing tiu-tiu-tiu-tiuuu) is also unique
Marsh tit's unique call is the sneezing pichay which is also a song when the bird repeats it fast, right?

 

[01101001]

You are most probably right about the song. I haven't heard them singing much.

When I said two, I meant the two types below. I may be mistaken in thinking that both are distinctive, but I think they are.

 

[TheBlackGrouse]

Marsh tit generally has a different song from coal tit, but sometimes it can imitate coal tit very well, so how can I distinguish these two birds? I'm attaching two recordings: the first two are coal tit's songs and the other two are marsh tit's songs. How can I distinguish these two calls?

In the field the song of the Coal Tit is high and very 'thin'. The Marsh Tit is much louder, with lower tones. Even if they have more or less the same song, you can still identify them, it's all about the timbre.

Recordings can be misleading. When listening to recordings and trying to identify the birds, I make terrible mistakes. When I'm in a forest these same species are no problem at all. Marsh Tits in a forest can be heard from hundreds of meters, their sound has an echo. The high thin voice of the Coal Tit is totally different from a distance. It stays nice and friendly while the Marsh Tit is just trying to impress with power.

It's the same with Marsh Tit and Willow Tit, their calls can be very identical but the Willow Tit can't control himself, it may take a few minutes, and you will always here the characteristic slow and low 'deh... deh... deh'.