172 THE TITS 



probably also in Western France, the Pyrenees, and the Cantabrian chain. In 

 Great Britain, though varying in numbers at times, it is found in most wooded 

 districts, but avoids the mountains and moorlands. It also breeds on some of the 

 wooded islands off the west coast, such as Skye, Mull, and Islay, and has been 

 noted as breeding in every county of Ireland and is common in many districts. 

 [F. c. K. J.] 



3. Migration. Resident within our area, and apparently performing 

 nothing more than local movements. Thus in Wales it is to be found "journeying 

 down the Conway Valley," but is unknown at the light-stations round the coast 



: (cf'." Forrest, Fauna N. Wales, 1907, p. 102). In Ireland there is a single record of 

 .a. "Hock of seven from the islet of Inishtrahull (nine miles north of Donegal) for 

 24th October 1895 (cf. Ussher and Warren, B. of Ireland, 1900, p. 102). The extent 

 to which it is non-migratory with us may in part be inferred from the following 

 observation on " the effects of the intense frost of February 1895. About Pale 

 and Conway the long-tailed tit was exterminated. In the latter district none 

 were observed until the autumn of the same year, when a few appeared which 

 were probably migrants from the east. In the Pale district long-tailed tits were not 

 seen in any numbers for several years " (Forrest, loc. cit.). [A. L. T.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. Nesting-place : often in thick bushes or thorny hedges 

 at about 3 to 6 feet from the ground, but many nests are also built at a considerable 

 height in various species of trees, such as oaks, pines, birches, etc., especially when 

 covered with lichen. The usual height seldom exceeds 30 feet, but instances are on 

 record of nests as high as 50 feet. The nest is a marvellous piece of work : it is 

 domed, with an opening high up on the side, and is built chiefly of mosses, woven 

 together with cobwebs and hair or wool, covered externally with lichens and thickly 

 and warmly lined with feathers, over 2000 of which have been found in one nest 

 alone. (PI. xxiv.) Both sexes work with the greatest assiduity at the task of 

 building. Eggs usually 8 to 12 in number : the larger clutches of from 13 to 20 eggs 

 are perhaps due to the presence of two females (cf. Zoologist, 1849, p. 2567 ; British 

 Birds, i. pp. 32, 62; iv. p. 78). They are white, in some cases without markings, 

 but generally spotted with light red, especially at the blunt end. (PI. D. ) Average 

 of 100 eggs, -55 x -43 in. [14-17 x 11 mm.]. The full clutch may be found from the 

 middle to the end of April according to locality. Incubation probably lasts 12-13 

 days, and is, chiefly at any rate, performed by the hen, but both sexes roost in 

 the nest. A second brood is certainly reared at times, if not as a rule ; but late 

 in the season the nests are not easy to find. [F. c. R. J.] 



