ENVIRONMENT
SUSANNE MASTERS
Illustration: Alice Goodridge
Bearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus)
WILD LIFE
Swimming level offers a good view of bearded reedling territory. Their name reflects their lifestyle, which is reliant on reedbeds.
Females are predominantly a shade of cinnamon brown, that makes it look like they are catching a warm glow of sunlight even on a dull day. Along with blue-grey and orange-brown feathers, males also have extravagant black patches either side of their beak, like a handlebar moustache. Social birds who make repeated contact calls to each other that sound like pings, bearded reedlings are often heard before they are seen among the reeds or flying low over them. In summer they mostly eat invertebrates found around wetlands: caterpillars, flies and snails. In winter, reedbeds might look sparse, dry and brown compared to their lush green summer glory, but they offer an abundance of seeds – a natural bird feeder. Bearded reedlings take advantage of this and switch to seed eating in winter.