184 
BEARDED TITMOUSE. 
inch, and form a dark stripe or « moustache” on 
the sides of the neck, and which are apparently 
capable of being raised or puffed out at the will 
of the bird on excitement. Head, neck and 
auriculars are bluish gray, extending across the 
breast in a paler shade, and slightly tinted with 
pink. The back, rump, lower parts of the flanks, 
and the tail, as it appears when closed, are yel- 
lowish brown ; the two outer feathers gray, dark 
at the base. Quills blackish gray, edged with 
white ; the secondaries blackish brown, with the 
outer edges orange brown ; the inner webs yel- 
lowish white, shewing a longitudinal stripe. The 
throat is nearly white, tinted with a blush of 
purplish gray ; centre of the belly pale, under tail 
coverts deep black. In the female, the upper 
parts are of a paler shade than in the male, and 
the crown is wood brown, often of a rather dark 
tint ; in the tail the inner webs of the three outer 
feathers are brownish black, the under parts are 
pale yellowish or brownish white ; and although 
the feathers of the part forming the moustache 
are elongated, there is no difference of colour 
either there or on the under tail coverts. The 
size is slightly smaller than that of the male. 
According to Mr Yarrell, the young bird from 
the nest, or in young plumage, has the back 
black, the wing and tail feathers are patched with 
black, and the under surface is entirely fawn 
colour. In the young males, the “moustache’’ 
is marked by a narrow black line. In the adults 
the length is about six inches. 
