l 5 2 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
jiown like the back; the lores and moustache are ashy-white 
and there is none of the black which distinguishes the male ■ 
the under tatl-coyerts are cinnamon-buff, like the flanks' 
total length, 5 - 8 inches ; wing, 2'35. 
Young.— Resemble the female in not having any black mous- 
tache, but they differ in being more tawny buff, with the middle 
ot the back black, and a black stripe on either side of the 
crown. Even after the first moult, young birds retain a good 
deal of black striping on the head and back, and even full- 
plumaged adult males, with grey head and black moustache, 
sometimes show some traces of black on the back 
Range in Great Britain,— Said to be found at the present time 
only in two counties of England, viz., Devonshire and Norfolk. 
1 he destruction ol many of its reedy haunts by the drainage of 
the tens has doubtless been the prime cause of the decreasing 
numbers of this species, which used to breed in Sussex, Kent, 
Essex, and the fen-lands of Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, 
^ n “ ln ? hl !L e ' ° n the Broads of Norfolk (and possibly 
of Suffolk), the Bearded Reedling still occurs, buL in diminishing 
numbers. ' b 
Range outside the British Islands. — Extends, in suitable localities 
from France and Spain, eastwards as far as North-eastern Thibet' 
frequenting marshes and swamps, and, as mentioned above’ 
becoming gradually paler towards the eastern portions of its 
range. It does not extend north of Pomerania in Europe nor 
does it cross the Mediterranean. To its Dutch and German 
habitats it is a summer visitor, differing in this respect from our 
British bird, which is resident, and does not seem to migrate 
Habits.— It is now very difficult to observe the habits of the 
Bearded Reedling in this country, as it is only in certain 
favoured localities in Norfolk, where the bird is protected, that 
there is any likelihood of meeting with it in a state of nature. 
It is now almost equally rare in many parts of Holland, in 
which, not long ago, it could have been seen in numbers. 
1 he primary cause of (he disappearance of the species is the 
same in both instances, viz., the draining and reclaiming of the 
fens and meres ; but it must also sadly be confessed that in 
England the unrestrained zeal of the collector and private 
