NOTES OF THE BRITISH WILLOW-TIT. 147 



(2) Thin, sharp notes. 



(3) Songs : (a) A loud clear note, repeated about 

 seven times ; the usual song, (b) Based on a more 

 liquid pronunciation of (1), but sometimes including 

 low notes of a different character. 



British Willow-Tit (P. a. kleinschmicUi) : — 



(1) Deep plaintive note, sometimes prefixed by one 

 or two thin notes. 



(2) Thin, sharp notes ; more frequently uttered than 

 the corresponding notes of the Marsh-Tit. 



(3) Song : Rich, Nightingale-hke notes, mingled with 

 a soft musical warbling. 



The Marsh-Tit makes its song (a) only from December 

 to April, but regularly during most of that period ; the 

 song (6) is uttered occasionally during many of the summer 

 months. The WiUow-Tit's song-period extends from 

 January to April and July to September at any rate — 

 this corresponds in general to the song-periods of the 

 Coal and Blue Tits — but it only sings rarely. 



I have now met with the WiUow-Tit in the following 

 places : — Kent — Wye and Tunbridge WeUs ; Sussex — 

 from Tunbridge Wells to Ashdown Forest ; Surrey — 

 Reigate and Leith Hill ; Hants. — Ecchinswell, close to 

 the Berks, boundary and the neighbourhood of Selborne ; 

 Berks. — Shinfield and Grazeley, near Reading ; Wilts. — 

 Little Bedwyn ; Oxon. — Checkendon, in the Chilterns ; 

 Herts. — Rothamsted, near Harpenden. My brother has 

 observed it at Capel Curig, North Wales, besides some 

 of the above localities ; he has not yet found it at Cam- 

 bridge, where the Marsh-Tit is decidedly uncommon.* 

 About Tunbridge Wells their numbers seem to be about 

 one-third or one-quarter those of the Marsh-Tit ; and near 

 Reading, perhaps about the same. At Wye and other 

 places in the east of Kent they seem to be rare. We have 

 nearly always met with them in weU-wooded districts. 



* Mr. A. H. Ev^ans informs us that near Cambridge P. a. kleinschmidti 

 is the only species observed by hun, and that it is scarce and local 

 there. — [Eds.] 



