Willow Tit

The Willow Tit group consists of two species in our area that are similar in appearance and can be confused, the Blue Tits and Willow Tits. We will consider the identifications in regards to the two taxa. As often, voice is the best distinguishing criterion. This will be discussed in the next chapter.
The Willow Tit has 14 subspecies that have quite pronounced plumage differences. Therefore, we will focus on the one that concerns us in France on the plains, the ssp rhenanus.
[In brackets is the counterpart with the Blue Tit].
The head has a black cap that covers the black eye and continues onto the nape. In the adult, this black is matte [shiny black, like it's been polished]. The sides of the head, from the beak to the nape, are white [a line is often quite clearly separates the white cheeks from the back reddish]. A often widened and ill-defined black moustache occupies the chin [small, well-defined moustache]. The throat is white. The beak is completely black [with a small pale patch at the corner]. The upper parts of the body and the wing covers are of a brown shaded with grey, quite dark and cold [slightly more clear]. The lower parts are hued reddish, especially around the wrists and the sides [less ruddy lower parts]. The remiges and rectrixes are blackish with faint pale edgings, these widened and forming a clearly marked brighter area on the closed wing secondaries [no brighter area on the secondaries]. The legs are grey.
Finally, a criterion for the ringers that cannot be appreciated until the bird has been handled, the tip of the tail. It is quite rounded for the Willow Tit, with more than 4 mm between the central and the external rectrices [slightly rounded, less than 4 mm].
The nominal subspecies montanus of the Jura and the Alps is generally paler and grayer.Young birds can be confusing. Indeed, the sides of the head may be tinged with a chamois color, the bib less visible, the lower parts paler, and the corner of the beak also paler. Suffice it to say they can be confused with the Willow Tit. So it is important to pay attention to the cries.