Photo: © Klaus Bjerre   www.kbphoto.dk
There are no other birds that have invaded Northern Europe so fast lately as the Panurus biarmicus.
Late in the 1960's several thousand birds were reported in Denmark. In 1975 there were about 10.000 pairs.

 
Photo © Jørgen Scheel
In Norway it was first observed in 1980. By 1994 there were 80 reports with 434 birds seen.

The Bearded Tit prefers dense reeds.
It may lay eggs 3 to 4 times a year, and the chickens from the first round early in spring,
will be able to give birth to their own chicks later in the same season.
After breeding the birds changes their meals from insects to pure seeds,
which helps seeds to be spread over an ever larger area.

Photo © Jørgen Scheel
Bearded Tits are lively, colourful characters, performing as both reedbed clowns and acrobats.
The adults have a warm brown plumage with a distinctive long,
trailing tail and black and white lines down the wings.
Juveniles can be almost orange-coloured with much more black on their backs.
However, it is the males which attract the most interest with their blue-grey heads
and ridiculous 'Zapata' moustaches.