Bearded Titmouse

(Panurus biarmicus), also reedling, a bird of the family Paridae of the order Passeriformes. The body length is about 16 cm. The tail is long and graduated. The male has a bluish crown and a red back and tail; black “moustaches” extend down the sides of the neck. In the female, the crown is brownish and the “moustaches” are absent.

The bearded titmouse is distributed in Europe and Asia, mainly in the steppe zone; in the USSR it is found from Lithuania to Transbaikalia. It lives along the banks of lakes and rivers in reed thickets. The nests are deep, sometimes with a side entrance. A clutch contains five to eight eggs, which are incubated about 12 days. The bearded titmouse feeds on insects and other invertebrates; in winter it also feeds on reed seeds.