- Parus biarmicus, Linn. S.N.
P. russicus, Gmelin.
Panurus biarmicus, Koch, Syst. d. Baier. Zool. p. 202.
Ægythalus biarmicus, Boie.
Mystacinus arundinaceus, Brehm.
M. dentatus, Brehm.
Calamophilus barbatus, K. and B.
Hypenites barbatus, Gloger.
Paroides biarmicus, Gray.
It is now generally admitted that there is only a single species of Bearded Titmouse, and that species stands by itself as a very well-marked genus (Panurus of Koch), with no nearer allies, in the opinion of a high authority, than Paradoxornis flavirostris of Bengal, and Cholornis paradoxa of China. Formerly better known as Calamophilus biarmicus, this curious bird is now nearly universally received by authors as Panurus biarmicus, but its position was for many years a moot point in ornithology, as the seven generic names at the head of my paper sufficiently indicate. Perhaps no one has done more to settle it finally than Professor Newton, who, in 1873, summed up the opinions of previous writers with his usual conciseness, and gave an excellent general account of the bird.
The "Reed Pheasant" of our Norfolk fenmen (so called from its resemblance in miniature to the nobler "longtails" of the battue) or "Maish [Marsh] Pheasant" as they sometimes dub it, or "Maish Tit" with a stress on the i—the Het Baardmannetje of the Dutch—has been regarded as a very remarkable bird, and has been the recipient of several English names.
For manifold reasons this species has long attracted the attention of naturalists, and the following notes and recollections
