Mustache tit - description, habitat, interesting facts

Mustache tit represents a separate species of birds, it belongs to the family of passerines. There are 3 subspecies of these individuals, but they are so similar to each other that only specialists can distinguish them.

Description

The whiskered tit looks like a small and rather brisk bird; it is also called bearded tit and also a bearded tit. The exquisite colors of its plumage are a characteristic feature of the extraordinary image of this bird. Bearded tit males are dressed up more brightly, their head and neck are painted in a gray-blue color, on the back is a plumage of wheat color, tinted with a reddish tone, and the belly of a dandy is colored in light pink shades.

The plumage of the wings and tail of the male has a brown color, it is equipped with ornaments consisting of longitudinal strips of white and black.A characteristic feature of these birds are the black antennae, which have a triangular shape, they begin near the bird's eye and descend. Females of the whiskers do not have a mustache, their decoration looks less bright.

The size of an adult bearded body reaches 15 centimeters, its weight can be from 10 to 20 grams, the width of the wingspan of this bird reaches 20 centimeters. The roundness of the outlines of bearded tit and the small size of its tail give it a similarity to a feather ball.

The singing of this bird does not differ with virtuoso trills, but its unpretentiousness, attractive coloring and eccentric habits give it popularity, thanks to which bird lovers willingly breed baleen titmouses in captivity.

The differences of the warts by gender

Mustache tits have a pronounced sexual dimorphism. The males of these birds have a brighter color. Females of bearded tits are colored in a reddish-yellow color, on which black stripes located in the area of ​​the tail are clearly distinguished. Black antennae, which are a distinctive feature for males, are absent in females of this species of birds. Juveniles differ in lighter plumage, they can be distinguished by the light brown shades that prevail in color.Their difference also consists of a black stripe located on the abdomen, and the tail of young individuals is darkened with a black patina.

Habitats

Baleen tits prefer to settle on the banks of rivers, freshwater lakes and all sorts of other reservoirs. You can meet them, starting with the European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, to the borders of the western part of Russia. A favorite place of nesting places of this species is thickets of reeds, in which baleen tits sit in small groups of up to 50 individuals. They are perfectly adapted to the conditions of flux, here they build their nests from shoots of reeds and raise offspring, which they bring twice a year.

Bearded tits are sedentary and do not arrange seasonal flights. An exception can be made only by populations living in the northern regions that migrate to areas to the south for wintering. These birds are not able to tolerate severe frosts, caught in the weather by surprise, they massively perish.

Mating season

As the main argument for attracting females in the mating season, the male bearded does not use the melody of his singing, but the brilliance of the marriage dress.Having settled in a prominent 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 is in the form of a deep bowl, which is located in reed thickets at a small height not far from the water. The main building material for the nest is dry reeds left over from last year. Line the bearded nest plant fluff, which is sufficient in reed panicles. This type of bird prefers monogamous relationships, a pair formed once, remains inseparable throughout life.

Diet

Baleen tits that live in nature are forced to change their diet depending on the 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 basis is made by the seeds of reeds, in which they are arranged.

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

Singing features

The singing of baleen tit does not differ by long trills, which melodiousness attracts the attention of singing birds. But the sounds made by these individuals are quite diverse. They are able to imitate jerky hissing and snapping chirping. Their ringing chirping is also filled with variety, passing at times on very high notes.

Interesting Facts

1. Baleen tits prefer all their lives to maintain fidelity to one partner. This makes the mating dance of a male demonstrating the beauty of his plumage particularly attractive, because this dance will take place only once in his life.
2. The male actively assists his darling in the construction of the nest, delivering building materials, he also helps to incubate the clutch and replaces the female when she needs to eat.
3. Baleen tits prefer to live in small flocks, with the onset of cold weather they get off to spend the night in heaps, helping each other to warm up.
4. Favorite occupation of these birds, for which they spend all their free time, is the cleaning of feathers.
5. Bearded tits chicks 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 bloomed in the thickets of reeds.
6. In the winter period, there are cases when the night frost sharply increases - baleen tits that are not able to withstand low temperatures, because they die in whole flocks.

Video: Mustache (Panurus biarmicus)