Bearded Tit of Britain and Ireland
Photo credit: Smudge 9000 on Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC
The Bearded Tit, Panurus biarmicus, is one of the rarest birds in Britain and Ireland. They are small, distinctive birds which live and breed in large reedbeds throughout the year.
The population of Bearded Tits is prone to fluctuations because of their susceptibility to cold winter weather.
Happily, their numbers and range have increased in Britain because of the milder weather in the winter.
The trend in the Republic of Ireland is unknown as there are only ten Bearded Tits in the Irish population.
Other names for the Bearded Tit include the Bearded Reeding and Bearded Parrotbill.
The male is ginger with a blue-grey head, black moustache and black rump. The wings have black and white markings. The tail is longer in the male than the female.
Females and juveniles are ginger-brown and have a dark patch in the centre of the back. They also lack the moustache.
Beaded Tits belong to the Parrotbill family of birds
Bearded Tits are sociable and noisy birds that spend their lives among large reedbeds and vegetation along the edges o marshes and wetland.
They are very agile birds which cling easily to the stems of reeds.
[Daily Mail - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2012539/Bearded-tit-does-splits-Agile-bird-shows-remarkable-gymnastic-skills.html )
The elusiveness of Bearded Tits in reedbeds is well known although they sometimes fly rapidly across reedbeds. Their loud “ping” sounding call is often the only way people know they are near.
The main diet of Beaded Tits is insects and their larvae, spiders, snails and reed seeds. Insects such as flies and aphids are eaten in the summer. The seeds of Common Reeds in the winter.
Foraging takes place among reeds, on the ground or floating vegetation at the base of reeds.
Bearded Tits are the only songbird in Britain and Ireland who spend all their time in reedbeds.
Cold winters, particularly times of prolonged snow and ice, are one of the main causes of the decline in the population. However, Bearded Tits produce large broods of chicks which allows the population to bounce back quickly.
Bearded Tits are resident birds who are found mostly in southern, eastern and north-western Britain. Most stay near their breeding sites although small flocks roam around local reedbeds.
Records show there are only 5 pairs of Bearded Tits in the Republic of Ireland. Breeding birds have been found along the coasts of Counties Wicklow and Wexford
“Breeding distribution in Britain & Ireland has increased by 84% since the first Breeding Bird Atlas (1976), and breeding hotspots are found primarily in East Anglia and more generally in the east of England and Scotland”.
Suffolk and Norfolk are the traditional areas of breeding Bearded Tits. The tidal estuary along the Humber in northern England is also a stronghold of these birds.
Bearded Tits arrived in Scotland in 1972 and began breeding in 1991. According to the British Trust for Ornithology, almost half of the British population is now found along the River Tay. Bearded Tits began colonising the River Tay in the 1990s {RSPB - http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/409396-bearded-tits-thriving-in-the-tay-reedbeds ).
Wintering Bearded Tits from the Netherlands and Europe sometimes arrive in Britain during an irruption.
“The spread of Bearded Tits to new sites is due to a combination of their eruptive movements in autumn and winter and mild winters”
{BTO – Introduction on page 6 – https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/shared_documents/publications/research-reports/2014/rr650.pdf).
Pairs are generally monogamous as they form long or lifelong bonds.
The male and female build their nest low down among tall, dense reeds during April. Some pairs have successfully bred in reed nest boxes provided by the RSPB.
The nest is made of dead reeds along with other dried grasses. Pairs normally use the same nest site yearly.
Four to eight eggs are laid in May which take 2 weeks to hatch. The young learn to fly after another 2 weeks and leave the nest a few days afterwards.
Chicks are fed flies [Diptera ) by their parents.
Both parents care for the young and can rear between 2 and 3 broods a year.
The young learn to feed themselves after a week and become independent after another week.
Foraging areas during the breeding season takes place on open ground along the edges of reedbeds.
Bearded Tits form autumn flocks from mid-September. They make local movements between October and November although the main wintering areas tend to be the same as their breeding sites. Small reedbeds often attract wintering birds.
The Bearded Tit is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.
Europe holds 15% of the global population. The global and European population trend is unknown.
The Bearded Tit is a green-listed species of bird in Britain. They were moved from the amber list in 2015.
There are currently an estimated 640 pairs of Bearded Tits breeding in Britain.
“The historic loss of this wetland habitat across the UK has resulted in the population becoming fragmented across isolated areas in the south-west, eastern and northern parts of England” {RSPB - https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/stories/bearded-tits-reach-record-numbers/ ).
The population crashed with only 360 pairs surviving the winter of 2010. Their numbers have increased recently due to milder winters and management of reedbeds by RSPB on their reserves.
The main threats to Bearded Tits are cold, harsh winter weather, flooding of nests and destruction or damage to their reedbed homes.
For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit,
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