Tilmive. 21 



most curious fact in the history of these birds is the exquisite art 

 displayed in the construction of their nest, which is made of the 

 light down found in the buds of the willow, the poplar, and the 

 aspen, and on thistles, dandelions, and various other plants. With 

 their bills they entwine this substance, and form a thick, close web, 

 almost like cloth. This they fortify externally with fibres and 

 small roots, which penetrate into the texture, and in some measure 

 compose the basis of the nest. The inside is lined with down not 

 woven, but left soft; they shut it above to confine the warmth, and 

 suspend it with hemp, nettles, etc., from the cleft of some small 

 pliant branch over a stream. In this situation the brood are well 

 supplied with insects, which constitute their chief food, and are at 

 the same time protected from their enemies. The larger end of 

 the nest hangs downward, and from a distance it looks like a huge 

 pear, with rather a long stem. The aperture, which is on one side 

 and almost always turned towards the water, is nearly round, and 

 only about an inch and a half in diameter. These nests are found 

 in the fens of Bologna, Tuscany, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany. 

 The peasants regard them with superstitious veneration, one of 

 them being usually suspended near the door of each cottage as a 

 charm against lightning. 



After the paper had been read a general conversation followed, 

 in the course of which Mr. Bridgeman remarked on the enormous 

 number of feathers used by the great titmouse in the construction 

 of its nest, many hundreds having been collected in a single nest. 



The question whether the titmouse at all frequently makes two 

 entrances to its nest was also discussed. No one present had ever 

 succeeded in finding such a nest ; but it is very reasonable to 

 suppose that the long-tailed tit (like the magpie) would often find 

 a second entrance very convenient. 



As to the derivation of the name titmouse, it was generally 

 agreed that the first syllable must be onomatopoetic, as is the case 

 with the names of so many birds (finch, pipit, etc , etc.), and that 

 the last syllable was due to the bird's mouse-like habit of creeping 

 about the branches of trees. 



The Secretary observed that the Saxon name for the little rodent 

 is mils (compare the Latin mus), and that the Saxon name for the 

 hird is mas (compare the German meise) ; he therefore argued that 

 the name of the bird was unconnected with that of the animal, and 

 that the plural ought to be iiimouses, not ixirnice ; the form titmice 

 being one of the numerous instances of words distorted by a false 

 analogy. 



