18 BIRD NOTES 



the most comical and amusing. It is by far the 

 most common bird on my window-sill during the 

 winter, but in the summer it goes further afield. 

 I had, however, once a curious proof that it does 

 not lose sight of its winter resources, and that it 

 retains a certain sense of property in them. It 

 was thus. One day in September I was standing 

 at the window, which was closed, when to my 

 great satisfaction I saw a long-tailed tit in the 

 garden below, a bird I had not seen for a long 

 time. I saw it come nearer and nearer until it 

 alighted upon a rose-branch that rises above the 

 top of the verandah, and forms a pretty and con- 

 venient perch. But just as I was hoping that it 

 might come a little nearer, and alight upon the 

 window-sill, down came two blue tits upon it 

 and began bustling about and pecking away at the 

 bare stone just as if it had been covered with 

 crumbs. Now there were not only no crumbs 

 there, but there had not been any for many 

 months, and there could be no other possible 

 interpretation of this curious little scene than 

 that these were two old habitues come to claim 

 their own feeding-place to the exclusion of long- 

 tailed tits and all other invaders, and the sense of 

 property was so strong in them that they took 

 not the slightest notice of my presence close to 

 the window, of which they must have been aware. 



