1919 ] Burleigh, Bird-life in Southwestern France. 501 



limb or flying out after an insect, they were never still, for even when paus- 

 ing for a moment they nervously jerked their tail continuously. The first 

 bird was seen March 23, but it was several weeks before they became 

 plentiful. On April 7 one was heard singing for the first time, a short, 

 sweet warble. From the middle of April on they gradually disappeared 

 and by the first of May none were left. They were first seen again on 

 August 11 and within a week were quite plentiful. On August 18 a large 

 flock was seen. After the middle of September they became scarce, but 

 one was occasionally seen until the first week of December. 



20. Regulus ignicapillus ignicapillus (Teram.). Fire-crested 

 Wren. — This little bird resembled in every respect our Golden-crowned 

 Kinglet — size, appearance, actions, and notes. It was a plentiful winter 

 resident, occurring in small flocks, either alone or with wandering flocks of 

 Long-tailed or Blue Tits. In the spring the last bird was seen on March 10, 

 several feeding in the tops of the maritime pines at the edge of a stretch of 

 woods. In the fall they were first seen on September 22, and were soon of 

 common occurrence. 



21. JEgithalos caudatus. Long-tailed Tit. — Plentiful and resi- 

 dent, and occurring in loose, wandering flocks. Always noisy and with a 

 great variety of notes these birds, although small, were far from inconspicu- 

 ous. Most frequently heard was a deep-toned chip and a thin, high-pitched 

 call identical with that of our Golden-crowned Kinglet. They nested 

 early, for on April 28 two nests were found with newly hatched young. 

 These were large balls of moss lined with feathers and well covered exter- 

 nally with lichens. The entrance was a small opening at the side, barely 

 large enough to permit the bird to enter. One nest was thirty feet from 

 the ground at the outer end of a limb of a large cork oak at the side of a 

 road. The other was but five feet from the ground in a large briar at the 

 side of a road, in the middle of a large mass of dead leaves lodged there 

 during the winter. 



22. Parus major major L. Great Tit. — This species was not so plenti- 

 ful as the last, and occurred usually in pairs or at most three or four birds. 

 They were resident, and being of a wandering disposition could, except 

 during the nesting season, be found almost anywhere, even in the middle 

 of the larger towns. Always noisy, they were especially so in the spring, 

 uttering for long intervals at a time a repetition of two unmusical, high 

 pitched notes. A late nest was found July 15 with almost fully fledged 

 young. It was three feet from the ground, in a natural cavity in the trunk 

 of a large maritime pine at the edge of a stretch of woods, and was a matted 

 bed of green moss, bits of wool, and considerable cow's hair. 



23. Parus caeruleus cseruleus L. Blue Tit. — Plentiful and resi- 

 dent. Next to the Long-tailed Tits these birds were the most frequently 

 observed of this family. Like the others, they occurred in small wandering 

 flocks and frequently were found with them. A nest found the sixth of 

 June with large young was twelve feet from the ground in a natural cavity 

 in the trunk of an oak at the side of a road through the woods. Another 



