310 THE COMMON BUSH-CKEEPER. 



The BEAKDED TITMOUSE is nearly as conspicuous a bird as the crested species, and is 

 readily distinguished from any other of its kind by the tuft of soft black feathers which 

 depends from the side of the face. 



It is a rare bird in England, and has only lately been admitted into the list of 

 indigenous British birds. It is found in various parts of the Continent, and is extremely 

 plentiful in Holland, where it is captured in great numbers and sent to England as a cage 

 bird. As it always inhabits the marshy spots, and chooses the thickest reed-beds for its 

 home, it is but seldom seen even in places where it has taken up its residence. Moreover, 

 it seldom shows itself at any distance from its reedy home, and does not care even to rise 

 to any great elevation above its covert, preferring just to flit above the waving reed-tops, 

 as it passes from one spot to another in search of the various insects that frequent the 

 blossoms and leaves of aquatic plants. While engaged in this search the birds are very 

 nimble, and frequently hang with their heads downwards, clinging firmly with their 

 claws, and caring nothing for the waving of the slender perch on which they have placed 

 themselves. 



The voice of this species is very remarkable, being low, melodious, clear, and metallic, 

 resembling in its sound the distant clang of fairy cymbals. While undisturbed, the bird 

 constantly utters its pretty note, and occasionally shows itself above the reed-tops ; but if 

 alarmed, it instantly drops to the ground, and by threading its way through the stalks, 

 soon places itself out of danger. Even a human foot would have but little chance of 

 following a Bearded Titmouse through the recesses of its favoured home, for the ground 

 is always so wet and soft that it will not support the weight of any but the lightest of 

 creatures. 



The food of this species differs much according to the season of year. In the summer 

 months the bird feeds mostly upon insects, spiders, and similar creatures. It also eats 

 small kinds of molluscs, and, according to Mr. Dykes, is very fond of the delicate Succinea 

 amphibia, which it swallows entire, trusting to the action of the gizzard to break up the 

 shells and triturate the food. As many as twenty of these shells were found packed 

 closely together in the crop of a single bird. During winter, when the insects have 

 either died or taken to their winter quarters, the land molluscs retired to their caves, and 

 the aquatic shells sunk deeply below the water, the Bearded Titmouse is thrown upon 

 vegetable substances for its livelihood, and feeds chiefly upon the seeds of the reed. 



The nest is a tolerably well-made edifice, cup-shaped, soft and warm in the interior, 

 and covered externally with dried sedge-leaves and grasses. It is always placed near the 

 ground in the midst of a thick tuft of rank grass or dead reeds. The eggs are generally 

 five in number, and are of a pinky-white, covered with specks and streaks of brown 

 irregularly dispersed over the surface. The nest is generally begun in the month of April. 

 It is probable that the young birds remain with their parents for a considerable period of 

 time, as the Bearded Titmice are always to be seen in little troops as they flit over the 

 tops of the reeds. 



The plumage of this species is pretty and peculiar. The head, the neck, and the 

 ear-coverts are a delicate grey, contrasting beautifully with the " beard," or pointed tuft 

 of elongated soft feathers of a jetty black, that starts from the space between the opening 

 of the beak and the corners of the eye, and hangs below the neck. The general colour 

 of the upper surface is pale fawn, variegated with a little black upon the wing-coverts. 

 In the young bird there is also a large patch of black upon the back. The tail is 

 prettily marked with black, white, grey, and fawn, and the under surface is whitish- 

 grey on the throat and breast, and yellowish-white on the abdomen, deepening into a 

 more ruddy hue on the flanks. The under tail-coverts are jetty black. The total length 

 of this species is about six inches. 



THE Mniotiltince, or Bush-Creepers, are well represented by the common BUSH-CKEEPER 

 of India. 



It is a sociable little bird, being generally seen in small troops, and often associating 

 with birds of different species. Although not very shy, it yet loves retired localities, such as 

 woods and thickets, and may there be seen flitting merrily among the foliage and underwood, 



