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A conspicuous ornament of the male is the black 

 moustache which gives it the name of Bearded Tit. 

 The hen is without this distinction, at least so far as 

 color is concerned, (she has a moustache, but the 

 lengthened feathers are white, and merge into the 

 white of the throat), and is in other respects not so 

 bright in color as the male. In length this bird 

 reaches to nearly seven inches, and well deserves its 

 popular name of Reed Pheasant. It is sometimes 

 called the Least Butcher-bird, and its head certainly 

 bears a striking resemblance in miniature to that of 

 the Red-backed Shrike, alhough the bill is yellow 

 instead of black, and lacks the dentirostal projection 

 possessed by all true Shrikes. 



Before the drainage of the marshes of the Eastern 

 counties the Bearded Tit was fairly common, but 

 latterly it has been feared that the birds were gradually 

 becoming exterminated, and when the list of British 

 cage birds was compiled by the Committee of the 

 National British Bird and Mule Club it was a very 

 moot point whether the Bearded Tit should be included. 

 During the last year or two, however, well authenti- 

 cated instances of its frequent breeding in England 

 have been recorded, and its inclusion in the list has 

 been fully justified. Apropos of the at one time 

 reputed extreme rarity of these birds in England, an 

 anecdote of my own experience may not be uninterest- 

 ing, and will have its application in more modern 

 instances, in other connections, which will be within 

 the knowledge of many readers of this article. The 

 first pair of Bearded Tits which were ever offered, to 

 me bore in their appearance every indication of Con- 

 tinental origin, but the dealer, when I expressed my 

 opinion to this effect, answered my doubts by offering 

 to produce a written statement that they were hand- 

 reared nestlings taken in Norfolk. The very next day, 

 in quite a different part of London, I met with nine 



