39° 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



in^ guilds iiiul sinks, where il picks up crumbs 

 and oilier morsels from anionf^sl the sweepiut;s : 

 hut in the milder weather it depends principally 

 iijion the larvre of insects and worms. It may 

 he kej)t in a cage such as that recommended 

 for the Wheatear, aTid will do well on a similar 

 diet. 



The Bearded Reedling, Paniiriis bidniucus 



(h'ewton), Family Piinnrido'. is commonly called 



I he Bearded Tit. It is a resi- 



The Bearded ,|^,„^ ^j^j ^ ^.^^■^,^^ ^j marshes 



Reedling. , , i i-.- 



and reed-growuig localities, 



feeding on aquatic insects and tiny molhisca ; 

 in the winter it subsists largely on the seeds 

 of the reeds, a mode of sustenance unlike 

 that of Tits. II has, we regret to say, 

 become very rare in this country, which may 

 he partly owing to the scarcity of food in un- 

 duly hard winters, though we think the chief 

 cause is the draining and tilling of the fen 

 and marsh-lands in many counties which 

 were once the happy Ijreeding and living 

 quarters of this interesting bird. 11 is now 

 said to he only found in the two counties 

 of Norfolk and Devon. We trust every 

 assistance will be given for ils iireservation in 

 lliese dislricls. so as lo increase its number. 

 II is a very handsome bird, having the whole 

 of the upjier part fawn-colour, the face and ear- 

 coverts grey, and from the bill across the eye 



down eacli side of the throat of the male bird 

 runs a jet-black l)and, forming a moustache, 

 which the bird has the power of ])uHing out at 

 pleasure. It is from this feature that it derives 

 its name. The chin, throat and breast are 

 greyish white, with a rosy lint oxer it, shading 

 to cinnamon on the Hanks ; the tail is long and 

 wedge-shaped, of alight, veinous-chestnut colour, 

 with the outer feathers striped with wliite ; I he 

 wings are dark brown, the feathers edged willi 

 fawn-colour and the primaries edged with light 

 grey. This liird has built a nest and laid in 

 confinement, but we have not heard of any 

 young being reared. Doubtless this could 

 be accomplished if a sutticient sujiply of 

 natural food could be given while the young 

 were being reared. It is an interesting |)et, 

 both in cage and aviary, handsome in ai^iiear- 

 aiice, and usually does well as an exhibition 

 bird. Size, of course, with good colour and 

 markings, combined witli perfect plumage and 

 steadiness, go a long way to assist its success. 

 It should be fed as recommended for the Reed 

 and other Warblers, giving a su]>ply of its 

 natural food whenever procurable. Care should 

 also be taken not to let it get too fat, as if so 

 it is very liable to go otf in a fit. Cages such as 

 arc used for keejiiiig ami exhibiting the smaller 

 Warblers are suitable for this bird, but the 

 living cage should not be less than 2 ft. long. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 



TITS, WRENS, WAGTAILS, SHRIKES, ETC. 



The Tits (family Pariihc) are most iiileresting 



in manners and ways, and also remarkable 



for their small but jxiwerlul sub-conical-shaped 



bills, whicli are so densely set with setaceous 



feathers al (he base as enlirely lo hide Ihe 



noslrils. Ill ca])li\ily they all, wilhout exce])- 



lion, jirefer a small box or nest-like rece])(acle, 



such as a cocoamil husk, to sleej) in, to ])erch- 



iiig (HI a perch. 



The Loug-tailecl Til. Acrci/iihi rasra [Sluirjir), 



also known by Ihe name of Bottle-Til, is 



nsideni and generally dislri- 



^^T V^^' baled ovi'r Ihe Brili'sh Isles. 

 tailed Tit. i , i , i 



II rs reniarkable lor lis very 



small body and very long lail, Ihe fcalhcrs of 

 which vary in lenglh and aie arranged no! un- 

 like those of the Magjiie. lis body feathers 

 have a downy-like apjiearance, esjiecially on 

 the head, and more particularly on Ihe fore- 

 head. The general colour above is black, with a 

 rose tint, a heavy black slrijie running on eilher 



side of the head from Ihe gape over the eye- 

 brow into a glossy black manlle, and a stripe 

 of while running from llu' foi'ehead over Ihe 

 cenli'e of the crown of Ihe head. The feathers 

 round Ihe e\c ari' while; Ihe ear-coverts, 

 cheeks, and lliroal ashy-while ; 1 here are blackish 

 sli'eaks on the forehead; the under surface of 

 body is lighlish. with rosy llnl ; Ihe wings 

 l)lack, wil h secondaries deeply edgi'd wil h white ; 

 Ibr lail black, with Ihe Ihree outer tealhers 

 lip|)ed at the ends, and the outer web edged 

 Willi white. The black stri]ie over the eyes 

 is said lo be biuader in Ihe female than the 

 male. 



This bird is of soniewlial restless disjjosi- 

 tion, like ils coiigeiiilors, lluuigh from ex- 

 l)erience we consider this liird Ihe most quiet 

 of all Ihe Tils in a cage. Allhough said by 

 some lo be dilliciilt to keej) in capli\ily, we 

 ha\e experienced no iikuc I rouble in keeping 

 this bird than any others of Ihe Tit family ; 



