THE GOLD-CRESTS. 
153 
dealer in birds and eggs has largely contributed to the threat- 
ened extermination of the species. 
The Bearded Reedling is never found away from marshes 
or reedy localities, but even in its natural haunts it is not 
easily observed, as it often skulks away into the undergrowth 
of smaller reeds and sedges when approached. In summer its 
food consists of insects and tiny mollusca, but in winter it 
feeds upon the seeds of the reeds, a mode of sustenance un 
like that of Tits, with which family this species has been 
associated by most writers. Mr. Seebohm states that the long 
tail of the bird is somewhat in the way in windy weather, and 
it then keeps entirely to the shelter of the reeds. The call- 
note, he says, “appears to be a musical ping ping, something 
like the twang of a banjo ; the alarm-note is said to be a 
chir-r-r, something like the scold of a Whitethroat ; and the 
cry of distress is a plaintive ee-ar, ee-ar.” 
Mr. Howard Saunders observes that even in the winter the 
birds are lively and musical, and at that season they may be seen 
in flocks of from forty to fifty together, often roving from the 
frozen inland waters to those which are kept open owing to the 
influence of the tide. 
Nest. — Placed in a bunch of reeds not far from the ground. 
It is somewhat deep, and composed of flat grass, and is lined 
with fine grass and the down or flowers of the reeds themselves. 
Eggs. — From four to seven in number, china-white in 
ground-colour, and varying much in size. They are rather 
large for the size of the bird, and are faintly dotted and 
streaked with dark brown, the streaks and lines somewhat re- 
sembling those on the eggs of a Bunting. There is no at- 
tempt at a cluster of spots round the large end. Axis, o' 6 -o"j 
inch ; diam., o‘55~o'6. 
THE GOLD-CRESTS. FAMILY REGULID7E. 
The little birds which constitute this family have been con- 
sidered by some ornithologists to be akin to the Warblers, 
by others to the Tits. To us they seem to be an isolated 
family, not distantly related to the Tits, but not to be included 
within the confines of the family Parida, nor to be admitted 
into the Sylviidce. The diminutive size, the brilliant crest, the 
