Bearded Tit
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| Bearded Tit | ||||||||||||||
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| Panurus biarmicus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Bearded Tit, Panurus biarmicus, is a small passerine bird. It is also frequently known as the Bearded Reedling, since it is a member of the parrotbill family of birds rather than a true tit in the family Paridae.
Although the parrotbills and their relatives, the Old World babblers are otherwise confined to warm climates, the Bearded Tit is a species of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate other than eruptive or cold weather movements. It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds.
This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large reedbeds by lakes or swamps. It eats reed aphids in summer, and reed seeds in winter, its digestive system actually changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.
This is a small yellowish brown bird with a long tail and an undulating flight. The male has a grey head and black moustaches (not a beard). Flocks often betray their presence in a reedbed by their characteristic "ping" call.