Another week, another celebration of a nice birdo. The Bearded Reedling (panurus biarmicus) is a blob-like entity with some fancy foot skills. And a beard.
These small little blighters are the only species in the Panuridae family.
Exotic looking, the birds are located across the UK. Mainly in the south of England, although they’re quite prevalent in Lancashire. Not that we can ever say we’ve noticed one.
But they’re also active in Ireland and Scotland, as well as other chunks of Europe.
What caught our attention with this species was an image on Instagram. The bearded reedling can at times resemble a greyish blob.
But they’re very distinctive looking, non? Just a bit difficult to spot as they dart in and out of life with super fast head bobbing.
About 437,000 of them reside across Europe—and they all have Hipster beards.
At around 12.5 cm they’re dinky little beasts. They also dig swamp life, often picking reeds and building their nests close to the ground.
They’re bird song is in distinctive “ping” and “ting” like sounds, pretty apt as the little things blast about the place like a bolt of lightning.
So if you’re birdwatching the chances is you’ll hear them before you see one.
They don’t often migrate, only choosing to do so if there’s some sort of colossal natural disaster. But they’re vulnerable during the winter, so maybe keep a bird box around, eh?
Now, the thing is, there are around 10,000 species of birds in the world.
Scientists think they’ve discovered 95% of them on Earth. Although the likes of the white bellbird crop up as new species from time to time.
But it’s remarkable that a species like the bearded reedling can largely go unknown by the wider population. For shame!
View more stunning images of Bearded Reedlings :
