Sa Ee

a veade in any quantity, with fenny land adjoining. During the
with in that neighbourhood wherever there are reeds in any quantity, wit \ F
autumn and winter they are found disperse
Suffolk coast, wherever there are large tracts of reeds.
on the skirts of Whittlesea, near Huntingdonshire, and they are te
Lincolnshire ; whether they are to be met with further north I nave foe Eo nUeaS of ascer ee ut they ue
been noticed north of the Humber. It begins building in the end of April. The nest is
f the reed and sec
inner of the nest of the Reed Wren (Sylvia arundi-

d. generally in small parties, throughout the whole length of the
one : e ° e
I have found them numerous, 1n the breeding-season,

not uncommon in the fenny district of

not appear to have
composed on the outside of the dead leaves 0
invariably lined with the top of the reed, somewh
nacea, L.), but not so compact in the interior.

the ground, on the margin of the dikes, in the fen;

ee intermixed with a few pieces of grass, and
ge 5

at in the mz
It is generally placed in a tuft of coarse grass or rushes, near
sometimes fixed among the reeds that are broken down,

‘tems. The eggs vary 1 s+ from four to six, rarely seven, pure white
but never suspended between the stems. The eggs vary 1n numbe , rarely aa ;

i i ish-red spots, intermix sth a few small faint lines and markings of the
sprinkled all over with small purplish-red spots, intet mixed with a few small fai e arking e

2 ry? 7 ye)
size about the same as that of the Greater Tit, but much more
and so intent are they in searching for it, that I

lou rounded and shorter. Their
same colour ;
food during the winter is principally the seed of the reed;
ha birdlime twig attached to the end of a fishing-rod.
er their shrill musical notes and conceal themselves among the thick

have taken them wit When alarmed by any sudden
ave take , y any

noise, or the passing of a hawk, they utt
bottom of the reeds, but soon resume
Their manners in feeding approach near to the Long-tailed
Their food is not entirely the reed-seed, but insects

their station, climbing the upright stems with the greatest facility.
Tit, often hanging with the head downwards, and

occasionally assuming the most beautiful attitudes.
and their larve, and the very young shelled snails of diffe
the reedlings. I have been enabled to watch their motions when in’ search of insects, having, when there
been often within a few feet of them, quite unnoticed, among the thick reeds.

rent kinds, which are numerous in the bottom of

has been a little wind stirring,
Was it not for their note betraying them, they would be but seldom seen. The young, until the autumn
moult, vary in plumage from the old birds; a stripe of blackish feathers extends from the hind part of the
neck to the rump. It has been said that the males and females keep separate during the winter ; but I have
always observed them in company ; they appear to keep in families until the pairing-time, in the manner of
the Long-tailed Tit,—differing in this respect, that you will occasionally find them congregated in large
flocks, more particularly during the month of October, when they are migrating from their breeding-places.”
—Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. ui. p. 328. :

A question has of late years been raised by some ornithologists as to whether this bird has any real affinity
to the members of the genus Parws. The late Professor Macgillivray, taking the digestive organs as his
guide, considered it to be allied to the Buntings, and distantly related to the Emberiza scheniclus and to the
members of the American genus Ammodramus ; and Mr. Robert Tomes has written a very elaborate article in
the second volume of the ‘Ibis’ in support of this view. Linnaeus at one time referred it to the genus
Lanius ; and Bewick termed it the Lesser Butcher Bird. After well considering the matter, I cannot perceive
that it has any direct alliance with either of those genera; and while I admit that it differs in many points
from the true Tits, | must advocate its Parine affinities: it is an aberrant form, certainly, but no more so than
that of the Penduline Tit, Agithalus pendulinus, or the Sultan Tit of India, Melanochlora sultanea. The Parine
constitute a great group comprising many genera, with variously modified forms, the members of which are
widely dispersed: over the surface of the globe. Insects in their multitudinous variety furnish the main diet of
the whole family; but in the Bearded Tit we find a bird with a peculiarly formed, long, thick, and muscular
stomach, admirably adapted for grinding down the shells of minute testaceous mollusks, upon which and the
seeds of the reed it mainly subsists. In its active movements, wandering disposition, and gregarious habits,
it shows a Parine rather than a Fringilline relationship; in the number and markings of its eggs it also
offers an assimilation; but in selecting a site for its nest, and the materials of which it is constructed, it differs
not only from every other Tit with which we are acquainted, but also from the Buntings.

The male has the crown of the head, nape, and cheeks delicate bluish grey; between the bill and the eyes
a black mark, which proceeds down the side of each cheek and terminates in a fine and lengthened
moustache ; throat white, passing into vinous grey of the chest and upper part of the flanks ; lower part of
ue Hanks, back, and four middle tail-feathers rich deep fawn-colour ; lateral tail-feathers greyish white at the
tips, with darker bases; primaries brown, margined externally with pure white; spurious wing brown ;
greater coverts and secondaries rich deep fawn-colour, striated with black, the inner webs of the two or
three nearest the body white; under tail-coverts black; irides clear yellow; bill light orange-yellow ; le
feet, and claws black. ; :

8S»

e :

The female is r . if t i i
emale is rather less than the male, of a more uniform fawn-colour, is destitute of the black moustache,
1as the under tail-coverts buff, instead of black, and the bill yellowish orey.

The Plate represents : i nee

represents the two sexes atural size, wi 1 i

ee: i le two sexes of the natural size, with a number of young birds of the first autumn in
ne distance. The plant is the Phragmites communis of Lindley.

Sa Qe te a SOW FES. ee es