228 THE BEARDED-TIT 



appears ; sedges, too, have a peculiar rustle of their own, increased 

 in this instance by the length of tail which the reedling drags behind 

 it. For a moment the bird looks like a downy ball, because when 

 foreshortened the bearded-tit seems to have no neck ; but as the 

 eager brood, roused by the approaching rustle, suddenly thrust up 

 their wide gapes, the downy ball becomes elongated, and with rapid 

 sinuous movements administers food to each in turn. 



The young when first hatched are an ugly slaty grey colour, and 

 without a trace of nestling down. Their most interesting feature is 

 not displayed till they open their mouths, when the peculiar palate 

 markings are brought into view. Attention was first called to these 

 by the Rev. M. C. H. Bird, but so far science has not found an 

 explanation of their presence. They have been accurately described 

 by Mr. Pycraft as follows : " Briefly these markings take the form of 

 four rows of pearly white, conical peg-like projections suggesting the 

 palatal teeth of reptiles, ten on either side of the middle line. These 

 tooth-like bodies are not of uniform size, and are set in a back- 

 ground of black surrounded by rich carnelian red, the whole being 

 framed in by the lemon-yellow gape-wattles, which are not very 

 strongly developed. The tongue is black with a white tip, and with 

 a pair of white spurs at its base." l 



The younger the nestlings, the more conspicuous do these pro- 

 jections appear, so that the interior of the palate looks like a minute 

 harrow. The four outer ones on either side are in a straight row, 

 while the other twelve are dotted about irregularly between. They 

 are still present when the young leave the nest, but disappear ulti- 

 mately ; though I have not been able to discover how long they 

 persist, nor whether they drop oft' or become absorbed. 



The food supplied to the young consists entirely of insects, 

 chiefly flies and the smaller species of neuroptera and trictioptera. 

 The parents generally arrive at the nest with beaks full of such 

 tiny dark- winged insects, which are meted out one by one. Later 



1 British Birds, vol. ii. No. 2, p. 58. 



