Broughton, Richard K. 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6838-9628; Hinsley, Shelley A.; Bellamy, Paul E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2234-2119.
2008
Separation of Marsh Tit Poecile palustris from
Willow Tit Poecile montana using a bill criterion.
Ringing & Migration, 24 (2).
101-103.
This short report describes how we tested the reliability of a proposed bill character for separating Marsh Tits and Willow Tits of several European races in the hand. Pooling
all samples (395 birds), the probability of accurately
identifying an unknown bird as a Marsh Tit or a Willow
Tit, based only on the presence or absence of pale marks
on both sides of the upper mandible, was 98.0%.
The bill criterion was therefore validated as a highly reliable method of separating Marsh Tits and Willow Tits.
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