THE MARSH TITMOUSE 71 



districts of Scotland — in Eoss, Inverness, Banff, and Aberdeen. 

 It is distingnished by its conspicuous black streaked with 

 white frontal crest, otherwise it somewhat resembles the 

 Marsh Tit. It is a bird of the pine woods, and seldom 

 wanders far from that tree. In its habits, food, mode of nesting, 

 and call-note it differs but slightly from its congeners. In 

 autumn and winter the Crested Tit sometimes wanders far 

 from home, and on one solitary occasion I have seen it as far 

 south as Derbyshire. Its eggs, live to seven in number, are 

 white spotted and blotched with brownish -red, and are as a 

 rule more richly and boldly marked than those of any other 

 British species of Titmouse. 



So long as the wide expanse of fenland remains in its 

 primitive seclusion, the Bearded Titmouse {Panurus liarmi- 

 cus) will probably be ranked as one of our rarer birds. It 

 is almost exclusively confined to the fens and broads — the 

 forests of reeds that stretch monotonously farand wide over this 

 tract of country. No other British bird can be confused with 

 the Bearded Titmouse — its slate-gray head, rufous brown and 

 delicate pink plumage, black moustachial lines, and long tail, 

 being unfailing marks of distinction. In its habits it puts 

 you in mind of the Eeed Warbler. Like that bird it flits 

 about among the reeds, crosses the waterways in dipping 

 flight, and every now and then utters its Tit-like notes. It 

 probably pairs for life like many of the Titmice. The nest is 

 usually placed under a tuft of sedge or other aquatic herbage, 

 and is made of dry grass and bits of reeds, sometimes lined 

 with the flowers of the reeds. The eggs, five or six in number, 

 are yellowish -white, streaked and speckled with irregular 

 lines of dark brown. They differ considerably from the eggs 

 of any other British bird. Two broods are often reared in the 

 season ; and at the approach of winter the birds collect into 

 little parties and wander far and wide in quest of food. This 

 is composed of insects in summer, and seeds of various kinds 

 in winter. 



