114 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



ally placed in holes in walls or trees, and the birds are 

 almost omnivorous in rel'erence to food. The Long- 

 tailed Tit, on the contrary, as its name implies, has the tail 

 long and graduated; three pairs of the tail-feathers not 

 only differing from each other in length, but all of them 

 also shorter than the other three pairs ; the legs and toes 

 rather long and slender ; the nest of the most perfect kind, 

 oval in shape, domed at the top, with a small hole at the 

 npper part of one side, by which access is gained to the 

 chamber within ; the nest is generally fixed in the midst of 

 a thick bush ; and the bird is more decidedly insectivorous." 



This bi^d is found more or less frequently iji all t he 

 wooded districts of this country. In the southern and 

 western counties of England, from Sussex to Cornwall, it 

 is common, frecpiejiting plantations, shrubberies, and 

 hedgerows , where the trees are tall, and also gai<leiis 

 and orchards. The foj)d consists almost exclusively of 

 various insects^ and their larvae, for which the bh;^ds search 

 with considerable persistence and activity. 



The nest, to which allusion has already been made, is a 

 perfect specimen of ingenuity and care, and is in all 

 probability the most admirable example of bird archi- 

 tecture to be found in this country. The writer has 

 examined some which seemed really marvellous in thdr 

 strength, conifort, and appearance; the outside is fre- 

 quently adorned with scraps of briglitrcoloured lichen and 

 moss, and the interior thoroughly lined with do_\yn and sf)ft 

 feathers. The number of eggs varies ; ten or twelve are 

 commonly laid, but occasionally even m_ore : they are 

 small, white, and marked with a few faint sjiccks of red ; 

 often, however, they are plain white. During the first 

 autumn and winter the entire family keep together. The 



