214 



Local Names: Bottle Tit or Jug, Feather poke, Long tailed Pie or 

 Ca'pon, Bumbarrel, Mumruffin, Miller's Thumb. Welsh: Lleian gynffon 

 Mr, Pwd, etc. 



Acredula caudata (L.). Newton, ed. Yarrell, I, p. 504. A. rosea' (Bljth). 

 Dresser, Birds of Europe, III. p. 63; id. Man. Pal. Birds, p. 158. Saunders, 

 Man. p. 101. Aegithalos caudatus rosea (Blyth) Hartert, Vog. Pal. Fauna, 

 p. 384. 



Breeding Range: The British Isles, and W. France. 

 Britijh In all the wooded parts of Great Britain this bird is very 



iBies. generally distributed in varying numbers, but is naturally absent from 

 the barren and wind swept districts and the higher mountain ranges 

 and is on this account local in N. Scotland, and parts of Wales and 

 Ireland. It is also somewhat uncertain in its appearances, being plentiful 

 in one season and scarce the next. Its favourite haunts are on semi- 

 cultivated land, where whitethorn bushes grow freely. In Ireland it 

 breeds in every county, and is numerous in districts suited to its habits. 

 It also breeds on some of the larger islands of Scotland, such as Islay, 

 Mull, and Skye, and also on the smaller islands such as Raasay, where 

 plantations exist. 

 Con- There is little doubt that this race is found in W. France, and 



tinentai Hartcrt states that specimens from the Pyrenees in autumn and winter 

 are indistinguishable from British birds. Possibly it breeds N. of the 

 Cantabrian range in Spain. 

 Nest. Very often the nest is built in some thorny bush or hedgerow 



within a few feet of the ground, especially in whitethorn, blackthorn, 

 furze, holly or brambles; but it is also found at various heights 

 in lichen covered oaks and apples, in conifers, and in the N. of 

 Scotland in birches, generally not more than 30 ft. frcm the ground, 

 but occasionally as high as 50 ft. {Zool. 1882, p. 188). It has also 

 been known to nest in ivy against a wall, at the top of a spruce, 

 14 ft. high, and among creepers, while Nelson records an instance 

 of breeding within an old Magpies' nest, lined with moss and lichens 

 (Birds of Yorks, p. 107). It is generally ovoid in shape and is most 

 wonderfully built of mosses (Hypnum), woven together with cob- 

 webs and a few bits of wool or hair. The outside is covered with 

 lichens, and the inside profusely lined with feathers, over 2000 having 

 been counted from a single nest. The opening is high up, and in rare 

 cases is said to be covered with a loose flap. An interesting account 

 of the method of building will be found in Oswin Lee's Brit. Birds' 

 Nests, I, p. 80. The time occupied in building seems to vary a good 

 deal, some birds completing their work in 12 — 14 days, while others 

 take three weeks over it. They are not shy, and are easily watched 



