THE TITS 1629 



alarmed by a sudden noise or the passing of a hawk, they utter their shrill notes 

 and hide among the thick bottom of the reeds, but soon resume their station, climb- 

 ing the upright stems with the greatest facility. In feeding they approach near to the 

 long-tailed tit, often hanging with the head downward and turning themselves into 

 curious attitudes. Their food is not entirely the reed seed, but insects and their 

 larvae, and the very young shell-nails of different kinds which are numerous at the 

 bottom of the reeds. Mr. Keulemans, describing the finding of a nest near Rotter- 

 dam, states that "both old birds made a great noise when I captured their little 

 home; both incessantly uttered their anxious note, churr churr, flying about me and 

 performing a series of rapid movements. . . . Bearded tits have no real song, 

 their vocal powers being rather limited; nevertheless, they produce peculiar notes 

 for expressing their different feelings. When rejoicing in each other's presence, or 

 when one perceives the arrival of its mate, they utter repeatedly their \\oteptjink, tjinck. 

 When disturbed, frightened, or caught, both sexes utter a very peculiar sound, like 

 tsjirrr-irr irr rrrr. Distress or anxiety is expressed by er-arrh ee arr-chieur. 

 When uttering the latter, they erect the body, bow the head downward, and puff 

 the feathers of the head and neck." In Holland many bearded tits are captured, 

 chiefly during the early part of October, when the old birds go on foraging expedi- 

 tions, accompanied by the young ones, to the number of six or seven in a flock. 

 The} 7 are then caught by means of nets, which are laid down among the reeds, while 

 decoy birds are placed at a short distance. The adult male has the head clear bluish 

 gray; the lores and mustache stripe are black; the back is rich fawn color; the pri- 

 maries are brown, edged with white; the tail feathers deep rusty red; the throat and 

 upper breast grayish white; and the sides of the body rich fawn color. The female 

 is grayish fawn above, and grayish white beneath. 



The tits of this genus (Certhiparus} have a bill of moderate size, 

 New-Zealand , , , , 



Cree ers curve " anc * compressed, the wings are moderate and rounded, the tail 



is also long and rounded, and the metatarsus comparatively long and 

 broadly scutellated in front. Its representatives are peculiar to New Zealand, the 

 common form, C. novcz-zealandicz, being confined to the wooded portions of the 

 South island, where it frequents low undergrowth and the outskirts of the bush 

 where insect life is abundant. During severe seasons it has been known to leave 

 the shelter of the bush to frequent the sheep stations, flitting about the meat stores, 

 and picking off morsels of fat from the bones and skins of the butchered animals. 

 Its ordinary food consists of minute beetles and other insects. The New-Zealand 

 creeper breeds late in the summer, the young being sometimes found in the nest in 

 December. The eggs are white, spotted with brown and purple. Sir W. Buller 

 says that the nest is of a rounded form and not unlike a large pear in shape. In 

 structure it is composed of dry vegetable fibres, fragments of wool, moss, spiders' 

 webs, and other soft materials closely felted together. The entrance is placed on 

 the side about one-third the distance from the top, and is perfectly round with 

 smoothed edges; the interior being lined with soft white feathers. The adult 

 male of this tit has the upper parts bright cinereous brown, inclining to rufous; the 

 quills of the wing are light brown; the tail is pale rufous; the sides of the head and 

 nape are gray; and the throat, breast, and under parts rufous white. 



