Birds of Marche

European Starling

This will be the last post in my Birds of Marche series, which began with species highlights of the Black Redstart and Rock Pigeon.

Among the birds I was most excited to see during my visit to the Marche region of Italy are the Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, and Blue Rock Thrush. The Eurasian Blue Tit and Great Tit bear a striking resemblance to the Carolina Chickadee, a North American species I photograph often and that visits my backyard daily…mostly for free peanuts.

Carolina Chickadee (photo from November 2025)

And indeed, the Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, and Carolina Chickadee all belong to the family Paridae, commonly referred to as the tit family. It was neat to be able to see and photograph the relatives of some of my favorite backyard birds.

Eurasian Blue Tit

Great Tit

White Wagtail

European Starling

Blue Rock Thrush

Eurasian Jackdaw

Black Redstart (male)

Eurasian Collared Dove. I almost missed the opportunity to photograph this bird. It was tucked way back on the inner branches of a pine tree close to the trunk. If it hadn’t been preening itself (it was the movment that caught my eye), I likely would have missed it altogether.

European Starling. A flock of starlings would gather on this construction crane every morning just after sunrise and chatter quite raucously, sometimes for 20 minutes or more.

Eurasian Blue Tit

Eurasian Jackdaw. The bird on the right is preening, or grooming the feathers of, the bird on the left. This is common behavior among family and flock members.