43 THE BEARDED REEDLING oa 
THE CRESTED TIT 
PARUS CRISTATUS 
Feathers of the crown elongated and capable of being erected, black, edged 
with white; cheeks and sides of the neck white; throat, collar, and a 
streak across the temples {black ; all the other upper parts reddish 
brown; lower parts white, faintly tinged with red. Length four 
inches and three-quarters. Eggs white spotted with blood-red. 
“THE Crested Tit’, is a solitary retired species, inhabiting only 
gloomy forests, particularly those which abound with evergreens. 
On the European Continent it is found in Denmark, Sweden, Russia, 
Switzerland, and some parts of France. In the large pine tracts 
in the north of Scotland, it is said to be not uncommon, and it 
used to be found also in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, but has 
been seldom observed in England. Its food consists of insects, berries 
of the juniper, and seeds of evergreens. It builds its nest in hollow 
trees, or in the deserted nests of squirrels and crows, and lays as 
many as eight eggs. 
FAMILY PANURIDZ 
THE BEARDED TITMOUSE OR REEDLING 
PANURUS BIARMICUS 
Head bluish grey ; between the bill and eye a tuft of pendant black feathers 
prolonged into a pointed moustache; throat and neck greyish white ; 
breast and abdomen white, tinged with yellow and pink; upper parts 
light orange-brown; wings variegated with white, black, and red ; 
tail long, orange-brown, the outer feathers variegated with white and 
black. In the female the moustache is of the same colour as the cheek, 
and the grey on the head is absent. Length six inches. Eggs white, 
with a few wavy lines of dark red. 
TuIs pretty bird is of very local occurrence, being found in con- 
siderable numbers in several marshy districts where reeds abound, 
but in others being totally unknown. Their habits resemble those 
of the true Tits, but instead of spending their lives in trees, they 
confine themselves to the marshes, and are constantly employed 
in running up and down the stems of the reeds, hunting for their 
food, which consists of small molluscs (or water-snails) and the 
seeds of the reeds. Like the Tits, too, they are sociable, always 
being observed in pairs or families ; not congregating like Sparrows 
for the sake of mutual protection, but seemingly from the pure love 
