358 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BEARDED TITMOUSE. 

 By J. H. Gurney. 

 (Plate V., Map.) 



Parus biarmicus, Linn. S. N. 



P. russicus, Gmelin. 



Panurus biarmicus, Koch, Syst. d. Baier. Zool. p. 202. 



Mgyilialus biarmicus, Boie. 



Mystacinus arundinaceus, Brehm. 



M. dentatus, Brehm. 



Calamophilus barbatus, K. and B. 



Hypenites barbatus, Gloger. 



Paroides biarmicus, Gray. 



It is now generally admitted that there is only a single species 

 of Bearded Titmouse, and that species stands by itself as a very 

 well-marked genus {Panurus of Koch), with no nearer allies, in 

 the opinion of a high authority, than Paradoxornis flavirostris of 

 Bengal, and Cholornis paradoxa of China. Formerly better 

 known as Calamophilus biarmicus, this curious bird is now 

 nearly universally received by authors as Panurus biarmicus, but 

 its position was for many years a moot point in ornithology, as 

 the seven generic names at the head of my paper sufficiently 

 indicate. Perhaps no one has done more to settle it finally than 

 Professor Newton, who, in 1873, summed up the opinions of 

 previous writers with his usual conciseness, and gave an excellent 

 general account of the bird. 



The "Reed Pheasant" of our Norfolk fenmen (so called from 

 its resemblance in miniature to the nobler " longtails " of the 

 battue) or "Maish [Marsh] Pheasant" as they sometimes dub it, 

 or " Maish Tit " with a stress on the i — the Het Baardmannetje 

 of the Dutch — has been regarded as a very remarkable bird, and 

 has been the recipient of several English names. 



For manifold reasons this species has long attracted the 

 attention of naturalists, and the following notes and recollections 



