198 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vii. 



BREEDING-HABITS OF THE MARSH- AND 

 WILLOW-TITS. 



In the neighbourhood of Henley, on the Berkshire side of the 

 river, the Marsh-Tit is comparatively rare as a breeding 

 species, and I doubt if I have seen more than twenty nests 

 all told. In every case these nests were placed in natural 

 holes or in boxes, in no single instance was the hole bored 

 by the birds or enlarged. I had often seen Marsh-Tits 

 breeding in holes drilled by themselves in other parts of the 

 country, particularly Oxfordshire and near Newcastle. When 

 the Willow-Tit became a recognized species I was in hopes 

 that the difference of nesting-sites might prove a reUable 

 indication of the two species. With this point in view I 

 caught birds from the natural holes and forwarded them to 

 Dr. Hartert whose verdict was that they were Marsh-Tits. 

 I then obtained a specimen from a bored hole near New- 

 castle, and the same gentleman very kindly again identified 

 the bird ; it proved to be Parus palustris dresseri ; thereby 

 shattering my hopes ! These birds are common round 

 Newcastle and all the nests found were in drilled holes. 

 With regard to the amount of moss used for the nest- 

 foundation, it would seem to vary according to the hole. 

 Wliereas there is hardly any when the nest is placed in 

 an artificial box, there is a considerable quantity when in 

 irregularly-shaped natural cavities. I beheve the Willow- 

 Tit has been identified in Berkshire, but I cannot find the 

 reference, and I am not aware that it has been proved 

 to breed in the county. Heatley Noble. 



[Mr. C. J. Alexander recorded the Willow-Tit from near 

 Reading (Vol. IV., p. 147) and there is a skin in the British 

 Museum labelled " Reading 23.2.'0I."— H.F. W.l 



GOLDCREST NESTING IN NORTH ANGLESEY. 



In reference to Mr. Forrest's note on the Goldcrest nesting 

 in North Anglesey {antea p. 52), I may say that I found a 

 nest with fledged young at Llys Dulas, north-east Anglesey, 

 on June 5th, 1903, and that I noted that the bird was 

 common then in that district. S. G. Cummings. 



BARRED WARBLER IN LINCOLNSHIRE. 

 On September 6th, 1913, I shot an immature Barred 

 Warbler {Sylvia nisoria) from a hedge close to the sea-bank 

 at North Cotes. The wind was E.N.E. with fine weather 

 and a good many small birds were moving, although there 

 was no "rush." Among others I observed Redstarts, 



