VOL. VI.] NOTES ON THE BEARDED TIT. 143 



reed-bed to another. But on one or two occasions it 

 has been my good fortune to witness what must have 

 been part of the courting display. Both birds slowly 

 leave the sheltering reed-beds and with metallic call-note 

 rise gradually into the air. There is no undue haste, 

 when once the couple begin to "soar." With expanded 

 tail and quivering wings they float upwards ; sometimes 

 the male will be uppermost, sometimes the female ; so 

 they rise alternately until both are mere specks in the 

 blue — then suddenly they drop like stones into the 

 reeds. The tail plays a prominent part in the mechanism 

 of the Bearded Tit's flight, for whether moving quickly or 

 slowly, there is always a rhythmic double-movement going 

 on. The tail is spread fan-wise, and at the same moment 

 is given a swift, spiral twist ; this double-movement is 

 extremely rapid, but very apparent, especially in windy 

 weather. The twist is due to voluntary muscular action 

 and must somehow assist in steadying these birds, which 

 dislike a rough breeze and often require all their strength 

 and skill to battle against the wind. The movement 

 may be akin to the swift spiral twist a squirrel gives its 

 hind legs when taking an extra long jump. This " rifling " 

 certainly imparts steadiness to the squirrel and enables it 

 to alight with unerring accuracy on any given spot. 



During the winter my captive birds would tunnel some 

 distance into the coarse herbage and disappear from view 

 for hours. One of these tunnels was over a foot in length, 

 and the first time I lost sight of the birds I thought they 

 had been carried off by a rat, but on examining this tunnel 

 I found them nestling together at the far end, out of the 

 wind. 



I could never induce them to eat seed of any kind, but 

 in addition to insect-foods, supplied them daily with loose 

 tufts of matted vegetation, consisting chiefly of canary 

 seed which sprouts rapidly, but has no depth of root. So 

 fond were the birds of this material, that they would 

 perch on my hands and attack the tufts before I could 

 strew them on the ground ; instantly tearing away the 



