MARSH TIT. 61 
MARSH TIT. 
Parus pauustnris, Linn. 
Pl. X., fig. 28. 
Geogr. distr.—Found in many parts of Europe, in Asia Minor and 
Persia; throughout England and Wales, but scarce in some parts of 
Scotland and Ireland. 
Food.—Insects, larvee, and seeds. 
Nest.—Formed of moss and hair, willow or thistle down, and a 
little wool, or of moss and scraps of hay lined with rabbits’ fur, willow, 
or thistle down. 
Position of nest.—Usually on a bed of chips in a hole in an old 
willow tree, growing on the bank of a stream or river, near the ground, 
or in some other suitable tree or stump in great woods, coppices 
hedges, and swampy places. 
Number of eggs.—8-12. 
Time of nidification.—IV-V ; May. 
The Marsh Tit affects low-lying marshy land dotted with 
willows and alders, or in the vicinity of woods; also orchards 
and gardens, in which, like the other members of its family, 
it does good service in the destruction of insects ; though 
occasionally seen in all the counties of England and most 
of those of Wales, it is certainly far less numerous in some 
counties than in others. 
The call-note of this Tit is said to be harsh, and to 
sound like the syllables “ peh ” “ peh ” harshly pronounced, 
but the spring notes of the cock are varied, gay, and more 
musical (Yarrell’s Brit. Birds). 
Mr. Harting has pointed out (‘ Zoologist,’ 1867) that the 
Marsh Tit differs from the Coal Tit in the absence of a 
white spot on the nape of the neck, a character which is 
always present in the latter species. 
