Mustachioed tit - description, habitat, interesting facts

The mustachioed tit is a separate species of bird; it belongs to the family Passeriformes. There are 3 subspecies of these individuals, but they are so similar to each other that only specialists can distinguish them.

Description

The whiskered titmouse looks like a small and rather lively bird, it is also called the bearded titmouse, as well as the bearded. The exquisite colors of its plumage are a characteristic feature of the extraordinary image of this bird. Males of a bearded tit are dressed up more vividly, their head and neck are painted in gray-blue, on the back there is a plumage of wheat color, shaded by a reddish tone, and the dumb's belly is painted in light pink shades.

The plumage of the wings and tail of the male is brown, it is equipped with ornaments consisting of longitudinal stripes of white and black. A characteristic feature of these birds are the black colored antennae, having a triangular shape, they begin near the bird's eye and fall down. Females of the mustachioed tit do not have a mustache; their decoration looks less bright.

The body size of an adult beard reaches 15 centimeters, its weight can have from 10 to 20 grams, the width of the wingspan of this bird reaches 20 centimeters. The roundness of the outlines of the bearded tit and the small size of its tail give it a resemblance to a bun of feathers.

The singing of this bird is not distinguished by virtuoso trills, but its unpretentiousness, attractive coloring and eccentric habits give it popularity, thanks to which bird lovers are willingly engaged in breeding of baleen tits in captivity.

Differences in beards by gender

The baleen tits are distinguished by pronounced sexual dimorphism. The males of these birds have a brighter color. Females of bearded tits are painted in a reddish yellow color, on which black stripes located in the tail region are distinctly distinguished. Black antennae, which serve as a distinctive feature for males, are absent in females of this species of birds. Young individuals are distinguished by lighter plumage, they can be distinguished by the light brown shades that prevail in the color. Their difference also consists of a black strip located on the abdomen, and the tail of young individuals is shadowed by a black coating.

Habitat

Mustachioed tits prefer to settle along the banks of rivers, freshwater lakes and all kinds of other water bodies. You can meet them, starting from the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean, to the borders of the western part of Russia. The favorite nesting places for this species of bird are reed thickets in which baleen tits are arranged in small groups of up to 50 individuals. They are perfectly adapted to the conditions of the marshes, here they make their nests from the shoots of reeds and grow offspring, which they bring twice a year.

Bearded tits lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not arrange seasonal flights. An exception can only be made to populations living in the northern regions, which migrate for wintering to areas to the south. These birds are not able to endure severe frosts, taken by surprise by the weather, they die en masse.

Mating season

As the main argument for attracting the female during the mating season, the male beard does not use the melody of his singing, but the colorfulness of the mating outfit. Having settled down in a conspicuous place, the male is trying to demonstrate in all its glory the bright colors of his plumage.

These birds arrange their nests twice a year, the nest has the shape of a deep bowl, which is located in the reed thickets at a low height near the water.The main building material for the nest is dry reeds left over from last year. The nests are lined with plant fuzz, which is sufficient in reed panicles. This type of bird prefers a monogamous relationship, once formed a pair, remains inseparable throughout life.

Diet

Mustachioed tits living in nature are forced to change their diet depending on seasonal changes in weather conditions. In the summer, many insects are available to birds, they will not refuse from spiders. And with the onset of cold weather, these birds have to switch to plant food, its base is the reed seeds in which they settle.

When these birds are bred in captivity, a plant diet consisting of various seeds is quite satisfied, although it is better to periodically feed them with a butcher.

Singing features

The singing of baleen tits is not distinguished by long trills, the melodiousness of which attracts the attention of songbirds. But the sounds made by these individuals are quite diverse. They are able to imitate abrupt hissing and clicking chirping. Their resounding tweets are also full of variety, passing at times to very high notes.

Interesting Facts

1. Mustachioed tits prefer to remain maritally loyal to one partner all their lives. This makes the male’s mating dance, demonstrating the beauty of its plumage, especially attractive, because this dance will take place only once in his life.
2. The male actively helps his beloved in the construction of the nest, delivering building materials, he also helps hatch the masonry and replaces the female when she needs to eat.
3. Moustached tits prefer to live in small flocks, with the onset of cold weather they knock together for overnight stays in heaps, helping each other warm up.
4. The favorite pastime of these birds, for which they spend all their free time, is cleaning the feathers.
5. Nestlings of bearded tits are born with very bright red beaks, the edges of which are surrounded by a yellow stripe. When viewed from the side, it seems that flowers have blossomed in the thickets of reeds.
6. In the winter, there are times when the night frost sharply intensifies - the mustachioed tits are not able to withstand low temperatures, therefore they die in whole flocks.

Video: Moustached Tit (Panurus biarmicus)