Species Guide: Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus)
Family: Panuridae
The Bearded Reedling, often called the Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus), is a small, long-tailed songbird specially adapted to life in vast reedbeds across temperate Eurasia. It is the single species in the family Panuridae, renowned for the male’s bold black “moustache” markings and its metallic “ping” contact call.
Appearance
Male
Adult males have a pale grey head, bright yellow-orange bill, rich rufous-brown body, and elongated tail. The most striking feature is the prominent black moustachial patches on either side of the face (hence “bearded”), and glossy black under-tail coverts. In flight, the bird shows sharply white-edged tail feathers and a distinctive undulating flight.
Female
Females are paler and more uniformly brown than males, lack the bold black facial moustaches, and often show streaking on the crown or back, depending on the region. Their bill tends to be duller than the male’s.
![Bearded Reedling's [Female - Left] [Male - Right]](https://i0.wp.com/in-focus.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AdobeStock_1730828751.jpeg?resize=960%2C640&ssl=1)
Juvenile
Young birds resemble females but are generally duller and show streaking and less clear facial markings; eye and bill colours change as they mature. Juveniles are sometimes observed forming early pair bonds weeks after fledging.
Diet
The Bearded Reedling’s diet switches seasonally:
Autumn / winter: largely seeds of reeds, sedges, and other marsh plants; birds are known to swallow grit to help the gizzard grind tough seeds during winter months.
This pronounced seasonal dietary shift is accompanied by physiological changes (for example, stronger stomach lining and gritting behavior).
Summer / breeding season: mainly insects and other invertebrates (adult insects, larvae, pupae, spiders, springtails), this protein-rich diet is what parents feed nestlings.
Habitat
Bearded Reedlings are reedbed specialists. They inhabit extensive stands of common reed (Phragmites) and similar tall, emergent vegetation by fresh or brackish water (lakes, rivers, marshes, and deltas). They avoid dry, non-floodable parts of wetlands during breeding and are tightly bound to large, well-structured reedbeds for nesting and feeding.
Resident
Winter
Behavior
Social behavior & call
Outside the breeding season, they are social, often moving in small flocks (dozens, sometimes up to a few hundred in exceptional irruptions). Their typical contact call is a metallic “ping”, often the first clue to their presence in dense reeds.
Bearded Reedling Call:
Ulf Elman, xeno-canto.org
Territoriality, pair bonds & mating
Pairs are usually monogamous and often form long-term bonds. Juveniles can form pairs very early. They may nest singly or in small loose colonies (average colony size can be around a few pairs). Extra-pair matings occur, especially in loose colonies, and females may use chases and flight displays as part of extra-pair behavior.
Breeding / life cycle
- Breeding season: typically late March to early September (peak April–July), with multiple broods possible (commonly 2–3, occasionally more in good years).
- Nest: cup nest built low in dense reeds, lined with softer reed heads and feathers.
- Clutch size: usually 4–8 eggs.
- Incubation: both parents incubate for about 10–14 days.
- Fledging: Nestlings fledge around 12–16 days after hatching and remain with parents for a short dependent period; many birds start breeding in their first year.
Bearded Reedlings are capable of rapid population recovery in suitable habitat due to high productivity and the ability to produce overlapping broods.
Biometrics
| Length | 12.5 cm |
| Wing Span | 16-18 cm |
| Body Weight | 12-18 grams |
| Longevity | 2-3 Years |
Natural Predators
Predators include birds of prey (small falcons, harriers) and generalist mammalian predators (weasels, foxes) that can reach nests when water levels are low or reedbeds are disturbed. Eggs and nestlings are vulnerable to predation when nests are accessible; adults are agile but can fall prey during movements between reed stems or in flight. Habitat degradation that fragments reedbeds can increase vulnerability to predators.
Relationship to Humans
Bearded reedlings are a charismatic part of wetland birdlife and are often featured in natural-history writing and local wildlife guides. Because they are so tightly linked to reedbeds, their fortunes are often used as an indicator of reedbed health.
Cultural/fable notes: unlike some more commonly mythologized birds, the bearded reedling has only modest representation in folklore compared with swans or owls. However, reedbeds and their birds (including bearded reedlings) appear in wetland folk tales across Europe, where marsh birds symbolise the mystery of wetlands, resilience, and the seasonal cycles of nature. Local conservation groups and bird-watching communities celebrate them as a reed-bed emblem and a “prize” species for visitors, especially in regions where healthy reedbeds are scarce.
Conservation Status
Local populations fluctuate markedly year to year, driven by habitat availability and severe winters (hard winters with snow/ice or extreme floods can cause high mortality). The main long-term threats are loss and degradation of extensive reedbeds, drainage, conversion of wetlands, reed cutting at inappropriate times, and changes in water levels. Some local subspecies/populations have declined or vanished where reedbeds have been lost; one named subspecies from the Lake Amik area in Turkey has not been recorded since the mid-20th century and may be extinct. Conservation actions that protect and manage large, connected reedbeds (appropriate water levels, reed management that leaves nesting habitat intact) are key to maintaining healthy populations.
U.K.
Conservation Status
Global
Conservation Status
Ad Space
References
- Lovette, I. et al. (2016) The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, handbook of bird biology. Third edition. Chichester: Wiley. [Accessed 26/10/2025]
- Lendvai, Á.Z. (2023) ‘Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus): the biology of a remarkable bird – a review of the recent literature’, Ornis hungarica, 31(1), pp. 1–1. [Accessed 26/10/2025].
- Belenguer Barrionuevo, R. et al. (2016) ‘Dramatic decline of the bearded reedling, Panurus biarmicus, in Spanish Mediterranean wetlands’, Animal biodiversity and conservation, 39(1), pp. 17–27. [Accessed 26/10/2025].
CITATIONS
- By IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, species assessors and the authors of the spatial data., CC BY-SA 3.0, [Accessed 26/10/2025] ↩︎
