Marsh Tit
Poecile palustris hensoni
Hokkaido, Japan
Japan, the land of the rising sun is home to some spectacular habitats hosting incredible species of wildlife. I had the opportunity to visit the Kushiro-shitsugen National Park (釧路湿原国立公園, Kushiro-shitsugen Kokuritsu Kōen) located on the eastern side of the beautiful island of Hokkaido. Kushiro-shitsugen is known for its incredible wetlands ecosystems.
Kushiro-shitsugen meaning Kushiro Wetlands or Kushiro Swamp covers an area of 268.61 km2 on the Kushiro Plain (Kushiro-heiya) making it the largest wetland remaining in Japan. It contains the largest tracts of reed-beds in the country. The Kushiro River, originating in Lake Kussharo, meanders through much of the park. During the Ramsar Convention of 1980, in which Japan participated, the park was first registered as a peatland with raised bogs. In 1967, the wetlands (shitsugen) themselves had been designated as a national natural monument. For that reason, access is strictly limited and the landscape, most typical of Hokkaido, has been preserved.
Reeds, sedges, peat moss wetlands, black alder thickets, rivers which bend freely back and forth, groups of lakes and marshes, and other wet ecosystems comprise a varied environment. Kushiro-shitsugen is home to over 600 species of plants. Kushiro Wetland supports rich biodiversity: It is a home to about 600 species of plants, 26 species of mammals, four species of amphibians, five species of reptiles, about 170 species of birds, 1,150 species of insects, and 34 species of fish. Aside from the Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) and the Sakhalin taimen or huchen (Hucho perryi), there are a number of species that are charismatic, rare, or endemic to the wetland. The Steller’s Sea Eagle that visits the wetland and surrounding areas is listed as Vulnerable by IUCN. Skhalin taimen is the largest freshwater fish, and its population size has decreased considerably in Japan. The Ezo salamander is relatively common across Hokkaido but is endemic to the island of Hokkaido. In Japan, the Siberian salamander (Salamandrella keyserlingii) is found only in the Kushiro Wetlands but is found widely in north-eastern Eurasia. This species can tolerate freezing of its body during winter. A handful of dragonfly species (such as the mosaic darner) is endemic to Kushiro Wetland.
The Kushiro Wetlands have been under threat from development in surrounding areas, influx of soil from surrounding hills and farmland, invasion of exotic species, and increasing area of alder woodlands. In a hope to maintain the status and ecological function of Kushiro Wetland, a multidisciplinary team of experts (representing government ministries, local governments, NGOs, and concerned citizens) has been gathered to form the Kushiro Wetland Nature Restoration Council in 2003. The council meets regularly to identify emerging threats, evaluate status of ongoing threats, and prioritise restoration projects. Following recommendations from the council, various restoration projects have been underway. Some examples of restoration projects are removal of exotic species, removal of a source of excess nutrients, restoration of meandering channels, reforestation of surrounding hills, and restoration of wetland areas from pastures on reclaimed land. A breeding pair of red-crowned cranes has returned to a recently restored wetland in the Village of Tsurui.
One of the species we had time to observe and photograph in this area and fairly close to the Kottaro Wetlands Observatory was the Marsh Tit. Another bird I have already written about earlier from this same location is the Eurasian/ Wood Nuthatch.
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Read about my other wildlife from Hokkaido:
View my Hokkaido Playlist here:
Marsh Tit
The Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris hensoni) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus Poecile, closely related to the willow, Père David's and Songar tits. It is a small bird, about 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighing 12 g (0.42 oz), with a black crown & nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings & 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. Thankfully I came across this lovely illustration on www.birdguides.com. Click on the image to view in full screen.
Willow tits and marsh tits are easily confused, even by the best birders. In fact, they are so similar that the willow tit was the last regularly breeding British bird to be identified and named in 1897, before that there were only marsh tits. The best way to tell them apart is by their calls. A willow tit has a ‘zee-zurzur-zur’ call whereas a marsh tit call sounds like ‘pitchou’.
Marsh Tit vs Willow Tit
Despite their name, marsh tits prefer drier habitats and are most commonly found in large areas of broadleaved woodland, especially those with a well-developed shrub layer. Both willow tits and marsh tits are red listed species due to their declining populations. Willow tits are now locally extinct in many areas, particularly in the southeast, and the numbers of both species have been falling since the 1970s. This decrease is most likely due to the deterioration of quality woodlands and the loss of understorey vegetation.
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.
The marsh tit was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Parus palustris. It is now placed in the genus Poecile that was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus name, Poecile, is the Ancient Greek name for a now unidentifiable small bird, and is perhaps derived from poikolos, meaning "spotted"; the specific palustris is Latin for "marshy".
Ten subspecies are recognised:
P. p. dresseri (Stejneger, 1886) – central and southern England, Wales] and west France. Still present in the far south-east of Scotland but in small numbers. It is slightly smaller than the palustris and more brown or olive-coloured on upperparts and dirtier below. Pale brown tertial fringes can sometimes cause confusion with willow tit
P. p. palustris (Linnaeus, 1758) – north and central Europe, from south Scandinavia south to north Iberia, east to central Poland, west Balkans and Greece
P. p. italicus (Tschusi & Hellmayr, 1900) – French Alps, Italy and Sicily. As dresseri, but more rufous on upperparts and paler on underparts In Sicily, it was described the subspecies siculus (De Burg, 1925) considered synonymic with italicus by Vaurie (1959), and subsequently forgotten by most authors. However, in a typical cline pale-dark/north-south all over Europe, and along the Italian peninsula too, where darkest birds are in the Alpine area and palest (as pale as nominate subspecies) in Calabria, the Sicilian very isolated and relict population is composed by the smallest and darkest birds in Europe, therefore rather out of the clinal gradient/intergrade populations. It should deserve better and in depth study before being in synonymized (Priolo, 1969; Corso, 2005; A.Corso, pers. obs.)
P. p. stagnatilis (Brehm, CL, 1855) – east Europe east to south Urals and northwest Turkey
P. p. kabardensis (Buturzlin, 1929) – Caucasus and northeast Turkey
P. p. brevirostris Taczanowski, 1872 – south central & southeast Siberia, north Mongolia, northeast China and North Korea
P. p. ernsti (Yamashina, 1933) – Sakhalin Island
P. p. hensoni (Stejneger, 1892) – south Kuril Islands and Hokkaido, Japan
P. p. jeholicus (Kleinschmidt, O & Weigold, 1922) – northeast China and North Korea
P. p. hellmayri Bianchi, 1903 – east China and South Korea
The nominate race has a black cap and nape with a blue sheen visible at close quarters. The black 'bib' below the bill is rather small; the cheeks are white, turning dusky brown on the ear coverts. The upperparts, tail and wings are greyish-brown, with slightly paler fringes to the tertials. The underparts are off-white with a buff or brown tinge strongest on the flanks and undertail coverts. The bill is black and the legs dark grey. Juveniles are very similar to adults, but with a duller black cap and bib, more greyish upperparts and paler underparts; they moult into adult plumage by September.
Like other tits it has a large range of call notes; most typical is the explosive "pitchou" note, given when agitated, often leading into "pitchou-bee-bee-bee", which can sound like willow tit when not heard clearly. Unlike many other tits, however, the marsh tit has a well-defined song and a wide song repertoire. Individual birds can have more than five songs, which they use interchangeably. Some of the more common songs include a typical tit-like, ringing, "schip-schip-schip-schip-ship", a more liquid "tu-tu-tu-tu-tu" and sometimes a sweet "tyeu-tyeu-tyeu-tyeu-tyeu". The old Staffordshire name for the species, 'Saw Whetter', refers to the bird's scolding call.
The marsh tit has a worldwide Extent of Occurrence of around 10 million square kilometres. The global population includes between 6.1 million and 12 million birds in Europe alone. The species is classified as Least Concern, though there is some evidence of a decline in numbers. Research suggests that the cause may be low survival rates from year to year, though the nest failure rate has fallen during the decline. Other studies have shown that reduced diversity of woodland structure and plant species, partly because of the impact of deer browsing, is the cause of the bird's decline.
Mostly spiders and insects are eaten in spring and summer, but seeds – including those of the thistle – nuts and berries are taken in autumn and winter. Beechmast is the preferred food when it can be found. Marsh tits often take seeds and fruit from the plant before taking them to eat elsewhere.
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