C A L A M O P H IL IT S B IA R M 1C U S .
CALAMOPHILUS BIARMICUS.
Bearded Tit.
Pams biarmicus, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 342.
Lantus biarmicus, Linn. Faun. Suec., no. 84.-
—■—- barbatus, Briss. Orn., tom. iii. p. 567.
russicus, Gmel. Reise, tom. ii. p. 164, tab. 10.
Panurus biarmicus, Koch, Syst. d. Baierisch. Zool., 1816, p. 202; Cab. Mus» Hein., Theil i. p. 89.
Calamophilus biarmicus, Leach.
— barbatus, Bias, and Keyserl.
jPoroides biarmicus, Gray, Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 193, Paroides, sp. 5.
T h a t the progress o f agricultural science, and the consequent high style o f fanning, h a s a tendency to d im in ish
and occasionally to extirpate some o f our native animals, we have abundant evidence to p r o v e ; a s in s ta n c e s
in point, 1 may cite the noble Bustard among birds, and the beautiful copper Butterfly (Chrysophanus dispar)
among insects. The draining of our extensive meres and flat lands, particularly in Cambridgeshire,
Huntingdonshire, and Norfolk, has certainly rendered those parts o f the country unsuitable to the habits of
the Bearded Tit, which I fear is far less numerous in England now than it was formerly. Birds, as well as
men, must yield to circumstances; but every ornithologist will learn this fact with regret,—the extreme
delicacy o f its tints, the elegance o f its form, and the docility o f it* disposition rendering it an especial
favourite with every one who has a love for our native bird.-. In Britain, although local, it is by no
means scarce; every tyro in ornithology is acquainted with it bur iSim are. doubtless, nucnerottt person* to
whom it is comparatively, if not entirely, unknown; to ? >u latter, then, ! would say that the VM
portrayed on the accompanying Plate i> t'tnKfctatly rvii'-v? «- kb as, «hat k ■--.¿i.ibif* ail the 6aany «i**tricta of
Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and HwoijngdotMdsjre. and ‘5
and with less certainty, on the tidal shores of the '{‘hastes and Medway, and oi stsff less itbimtUutcc on the
borders o f most of our sedgy rivers, from Cornwall to Yorkshire It mas? in- tmderstood, however, that it is
only in the five counties above mentioned that it may be looked for with the certainty of being found at any
tim e ; for I believe its occurrence in any other part o f England to be accidental, and the period of its visit
uncertain. I might easily extract from the various works on British ornithology a list of the particular
places in which this bird has been shot, and add to it others with which I am myself personally acquainted;
but this would answer no useful end, and the above general remarks will comprise all that need be said on
the subject o f its distribution in England. In Ireland I have only heard of Its being killed in a single
instance; in Scotland, I believe, it is unknown. On the Continent, as in England, it is very local; for,
although it is found from Italy and Turkey to Denmark and Russia, it is more abundant at the embouchures
o f the Rhine and the Danube than elsewhere. The marshy districts of Holland, where the character of the
country assimilates very closely to the eastern parts o f England, may be considered its head-quartern. In
France, Germany, and Austria it is sparingly dispersed, and only to be met with in reedy situations and on
the borders o f those rivers whose banks are fringed with its favourite plant (.Phragmitet communis).
I have not failed to observe that specimens killed in Holland are larger, more delicately coloured,
altogether more beautiful than those shot in England; those differences, however, are scarcely - o m m •'
constitute a race. Iusutar birds in many parts of the world differ slightly from other« o f the *•»»*
species found on a continent, as I have frequently had occasion to notice in the present work .'v; .
interesting passages have been written respecting the habits, actions, and economy of the « n r am T i f . a o i
I think it will only be fair to the Jtuthw*. os well as advantageous to ray readers, if I extract :• wm at tfww
A contributor to Loudon’s ‘ Magaatne id NUtum! History,’ speaking of a flock of eight or ten found by Jtw
a large piece o f reeds below Barking f fc rk in Essex, says:— “ They were just topping the reed« u
flight, and uttering in full chorus their «weedy musical n o te : it may be compared to the music •>? very r
cymbals, is clear and ringing, though soft, and corresponds well with the dt-m ■<. ;■ win Wnuty of the for
colour o f the birds. Several flocks were •*een during the morning. Tlieir Sight ' >«ort ;*nd
sufficient to clear the reeds, on the seedy tops of which they alight to feed. bmguig, «be tmmt of
with the head o r back downwards. If disturbed, they immediately descend by m
The movement is rapid along the »talk to the bottom, where they creep and w , ji
by the closeness o f the covert and the resembling tints o f their plumage.
“ The borders,” says the late Mr. Hoy, “ o f the large pieces of fresh ■
iicularly Hickling and Horsey -Broads, are the favourite places of resort oi <1