5i8 



PERCHING BIRDS 



„ , _^ ^ Althouc:h the East Anfilian name of reed-pheasant 



Reed-Pheasant, or . '=', , . ° ... . . 



, , ^., IS not altofjether free from objection, it is certanily 



Bearded Titmouse ° •' ^ 



,_ better than such titles as reedlinfr and bearded tit, 



. . . s which have been sufjaested for this very remarkable 

 biarmieus). , . , , , 



bird, the sole representative of the family Panuridju. 



What may be its precise affinities is still a matter of uncertainty, some 

 authorities considering it to be most nearly related to the titmice, 

 while others consider it to be more akin to the buntings. If habits be 



any guide to affinity, the claim to re- 

 lationship with the titmice is the 

 stronger. With the latter birds the 

 reed -pheasant agrees in having the 

 front surface of the shank of the leg 

 covered with transverse shield -like 

 scales ; but, on the other hand, the 

 nostrils, in place of being feathered arc 

 open, oval in shape, and protected by 

 a kind of flap of membrane. The short, 

 curved, and somewhat conical beak is 

 devoid of a notch, the wings are short 

 and rounded, and the tail is very long 

 and graduated — that is to say, the 

 middle -feathers are the longest, and 

 there is a gradual diminution in length 

 from these to the outermost pair. 

 After all, however, the most distinctive 

 feature of this strange bird is the colour- 

 ing of its plumage, which is of a totally 

 different t\-pc from that of all the titmice. 

 In the cock the general colour of 

 the upper-parts is tawn}' orange, hut 

 the head is bluish grey, with a patch of long black feathers running 

 downwards from the space between the eye and the beak, and forming 

 the " beard " or " mtnistaches," while the median wing-coverts are 

 also sable ; on the other hand, the inner greater wing-coverts and 

 inner .secondary quills have only their middles black, the feathers of 

 the latter series being also distinguished by their white inner webs, 

 forming a broad band on each side of the back ; in the primary 

 quills the reverse condition obtains, their outer webs being white ; 

 on the under surface the greyish white of the throat passes gradually 

 into pinkish grey on the breast, and this again into the tawny 



MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS 



KEKD-PHEASANT (MAI.K). 



