BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 299 



bank. It is by no means confined to such situations, 

 however. It is not uncommon, although rather local, 

 over most of England and Wales. In Scotland it is 

 scarce and very local, and is almost unkno\vTi in the 

 northern half. It is rare in Ireland. 



The situation of the nest is a hole, sometimes made by 

 the birds themselves, in a tree or a bank. The former 

 site is more frequently chosen, and is often a willow or 

 an alder. The nest is made of similar materials to that 

 of the Coal-Tit, but down of the willow-catkins is often 

 added to the lining. The five to eight eggs are spotted 

 with a darker red than those of the Coal-Tit. 



The bird itself is readily distinguished by the absence 

 of white on the nape and of black below the cheeks. 

 Altogether it is the plainest of the Tits in appearance. 

 Like the other Tits, it is practically resident within our 

 area, the roving bands of various species of Tits found 

 in winter probably undertaking little more than local 

 movements. Like the others, too, it has a British race, 

 which is to some extent separable from the continental 

 variety. The continental forms tend to be brighter in 

 plumage than the British races. 



[A bird called the Willow-Tit, which is scarcely to be 

 distinguished in the field from the British Marsh-Tit, 

 has recently been discovered in parts of these islands ; 

 but the information about it is as yet very incomplete. 

 A point in dispute is whether the Willow -Tit is but 

 another race of the Marsh-Tit, or whether it is a race 

 of another species not otherwise represented in our area. 

 The latter status is claimed for it by many, apparently 

 with good reason. But as matters stand at present, it 

 would be premature to regard it as the representative of 

 a new British species.] 



