The bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus'') is a small,
sexually dimorphic reed-bed
A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and
estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
. It is frequently known as the bearded tit, due to some similarities to the
long-tailed tit, or the bearded parrotbill. It is the only species in the family Panuridae.
Taxonomy and systematics
The bearded reedling was first described by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in his
10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758. He placed it in the genus ''
Parus'' with the
tits. The species has since been placed with the
parrotbills in the family Paradoxornithidae, after they were removed from the true tits in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
. More recent research suggests it is a unique
songbird – no other living
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
seems to be particularly closely related to it. The species is now placed in the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
family Panuridae.
Molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
studies have shown that the bearded reedling is most closely related to the lark family
Alaudidae.
The current genus name, ''Panurus'', is from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''panu'', "exceedingly", and ''ουρά'', "tail". The specific ''biarmicus'' is from "Biarmia", a Latinised form of
Bjarmaland, formerly part of what is now the
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land ...
area of Russia.
There are three subspecies. ''P.b.biarmicus'', found in northern and western Europe, ''P.b.russicus'', found in eastern Europe, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, and ''P.b.kosswigi'', found in Turkey and most likely in Syria.
Description
This is a small orange-brown bird, in length, with a long tail and an undulating flight. The bill is yellow-orange. The male has a grey head and black moustaches (not a beard); the lower tail coverts are also black. The female is generally paler, with no black moustache. Flocks often betray their presence in a reedbed by their characteristic "ping" call.
Distribution and habitat
This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large
reed bed
A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and
estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...
s by lakes or swamps. It eats reed
aphids in summer, and
reed seeds in winter, its digestive system changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.
The species has a wide altitudinal range, being found from sea level to 3050m above sea level in China.
The bearded reedling is a species of
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
Europe and across the
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
. It is resident, and most birds do not
migrate
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
other than to make eruptive or cold weather movements.
It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds. The English population of about 500 pairs is largely confined to the south and east with a small population in
Leighton Moss
Leighton Moss RSPB reserve is a nature reserve in Lancashire, England, which has been in the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds since 1964. It is situated at Silverdale near Carnforth, on the edge of Morecambe Bay and in the ...
in north
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. In
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
there is a small but growing population, mainly in
County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
. The largest single population in Great Britain is to be found in the reedbeds at the mouth of the
River Tay
The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...
in
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, where there may be in excess of 250 pairs.
[Forrester R.W. & Andrews I.J Eds (2007) The Birds of Scotland Volume 2 Scottish Ornithologists' Club ]
Gallery
File:Beardedtit46.jpg, Juvenile (top), adult males (center) and adult female (front)
File:Panurus biarmicus MWNH 1404.JPG, Egg, collection of Museum Wiesbaden
File:Panurus biarmicus flock.jpg, Flock in natural habitat
File:Panurus biarmicus Males.jpg, Three males
File:Bearded Tit from the Crossley ID Guide Britain and Ireland.jpg, ID composite
File:Panurus biarmicus.JPG, A juvenile pecks insects from a cobweb
File:Panurus biarmicus -Oare Marshes, Kent, England -female-8 (2).jpg, Adult female in Kent, England
File:Baardmannetje in het riet-4714647.webm, Bearded reedling, Texel Netherlands (2009)
Panurus biarmicus russicus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.180.9.jpg, ''Panurus biarmicus russicus '' - collection of MHNT
Panurus biarmicus biarmicus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.180.10.jpg, ''Panurus biarmicus biarmicus '' - MHNT
References
External links
Bearded reedling videos, photos & soundson the Internet Bird Collection
Bearded Reedling song/callat xeno-canto.com
Ageing and sexing (PDF; 3.1 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
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Passerida
Sylvioidea
Birds of Eurasia
bearded reedling
The bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus'') is a small, sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic reed bed, reed-bed passerine bird. It is frequently known as the bearded tit, due to some similarities to the long-tailed tit, or the bearded parrotbil ...
bearded reedling
The bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus'') is a small, sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic reed bed, reed-bed passerine bird. It is frequently known as the bearded tit, due to some similarities to the long-tailed tit, or the bearded parrotbil ...
Articles containing video clips