152 BIRDS. 



The nest, ready by the end of March, is placed in any 

 convenient hole in trees or walls, or even in squirrels' 

 "cages" or old crows' nests. It is of moss, lined with 

 hair and feathers. Eggs, 5 to 9, ^ inch; white, with 

 red spots. A second brood is reared. 



Often confused, as the long-tailed tit, with the closely 

 allied grey variety from the Continent, the white cheeks 

 and nape and the white bars on the wings 

 serve to distinguish the Coal Tit from the 

 rest. Common in parts of England and Ireland, it be- 

 comes less so in northern Scotland, and exceedingly rare 

 in most of the isles. A shy bird, it is mostly met with 

 in the wooded margins of moors and commons. It feeds 

 on seeds and insects. The nest, also in holes of trees and 

 walls, or in the ground, is, though smaller, like that of 

 the last. Eggs, 5 to 10, finch; white, with a few spots 

 of red. 



Continental Coal Tit. — A rare visitor to the eastern 

 counties. 



The best way of recognising the Marsh Tit is to know 

 the rest, for in truth, beyond having their general ap- 

 pearance and antics, it has very little about 

 ' it that calls for description. As in the long- 

 tailed and coal tits, there is a distinct Continental race. 

 The resident flocks, local in distribution, are augmented 

 by autumn migrants, and their wanderings inland are con- 

 siderable. This bird is quite unknown in many English 

 districts, and is rare in Scotland and Ireland. It feeds on 

 insects ; also, to a lesser extent, on seeds and fruits. Al- 

 though it occasionally selects a hole ready made to its 

 purpose, this bird more often excavates a hole in some 

 alder in damp situations, being, unlike the woodpeckers, 

 careful to remove most of the tell-tale chips from the 

 ground, near which the nesting -hole is usually made. 

 The nest, a careless structure, like those of most birds 



