Bearded Reedlings: An ex-member of the tit family

🪶  Bearded Reedlings 🪶

A male bearded reedling in it's natural 
habitat, a reedbed

Bearded reedlings are a small, charismatic member of the tit family... or are they? Until the late 20th century, Britain had 8 species of tits, bearded tits, blue tits, coal tits, crested tits, great tits, long-tailed tits, marsh tits and willow tits. Bearded reedlings were known as 'Bearded tits' due to their resemblance to long-tailed tits, and were placed in the the tit family, Paridae. However, in the 1980's and 1990's studies showed that both bearded tits and long-tailed tits were not actually in the tit family, but rather the Panuridae and Aegithalidae families respectively.

Bearded reedlings live, feed and nest in reedbeds. Their diet varies by season, in Spring and Summer usually consisting of: small invertebrates, such as midges, beetles, flies, moths and insect larvae. In Autumn and Winter, however, their diet mainly consists of reed seeds, as well as ingesting grit and small stones to help grind up the tough outer layer of seeds in their gizzard. Nesting happens between March and September - and up to 4 broods can be raised every year if conditions are correct. With between 4-8 eggs a clutch, this means up to 32 chicks can be raised by one pair every year! The nests themselves are found at the base of dense reedbeds, made with reed stems for structure, and soft reed heads and feathers for inner lining. After incubation for around 1 ½  - 2 weeks (shared by both parents) the eggs hatch, the chicks fledging anywhere between 12 and 16 days later. These reedbed residents only usually live 2 - 3 years in the wild, though some have been known to live for 7 years. Like many other of our bird species, the bearded reedling have declined in the UK, fortunately a more modest decline compared to others at  around 13% since 1975. This is due to loss of reedbeds (around 40% since 1945), affecting many other species, most notably the bittern, which went extinct in the UK but is thankfully now increasing because of conservation efforts. 

Gizzard is the word for an organ found in some birds, reptiles and invertebrates, which breaks down hard food and plant matter, using grit and gravel ingested by the animal.

I have not been lucky enough to see these reedbed specialists myself, but am planning a trip to Norfolk where they are fed grit in the Winter, so I will update you if I succeed. Thank you for reading, I hope you learnt something and enjoyed! 

Isaacp   Per[Nature]🌿