BEARDED TITMOUSE. 
187 
nVSESSORES. 
DENTIROSTRES. PARIDM. 
PLATE LXXXII. 
BEARDED TITMOUSE. 
Pares biarmicus. {Linn.) 
Among the smaller British birds there is none more lovely 
than the Bearded Titmouse. Its elegant form, silky plumage, 
and -well-defined markings, combine to render it, when in 
a living state, one of the most pleasing of the feathered race. 
The intensely black moustaches of the male bird add greatly 
to its beauty, although they appear an extraordinary append¬ 
age to a bird so gentle and mild in character, inducing the 
belief that moustaches are by no means certain indications of 
ferocity or courage. The nature of the Bearded Titmouse is 
amiable, and it is pleasing and elegant in all its move¬ 
ments. These birds are restless, like their congeners, the 
rest of the Titmouse family, continually running up and 
down the stems of the rushes, and rocking themselves fre¬ 
quently at the extreme points, influenced by the wind or 
by their own slight weight. They associate in pairs or 
families, and occasionally unite in small flocks. They display 
great agility in climbing the rushes, among which they live, 
but are seldom seen upon the ground. Their flight is 
buoyant, and their note, which is often uttered on the wing, 
is clear and ringing. 
The Bearded Titmouse is, in this country, a bird of very 
local distribution, on account of its exclusive attachment to 
VOL. II. 
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