178 THE TITS 



only winter visitors from the opposite coast. There is no evidence of any migratory 

 movement on the part of this race. [F. c. B. J.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. Ussher says that the nest is usually built in the hole of 

 a stone-faced bank, and is lined with a thick bed of rabbit's fur, sometimes mixed 

 with cowhair, feathers being only exceptionally used, upon a foundation of green 

 moss. He also notes that the male assists the female in building (Birds of Ireland, 

 p. 31). The eggs are laid in April and May, and a clutch of 9 eggs from Co. Water- 

 ford in the British Museum was taken on 15th May. [F. c. R. J.] 



5. Food. Chiefly no doubt insects. Ussher notes that it feeds on the alder, 

 and during winter frequents these trees in company with other tits, goldcrests, 

 creepers, and redpolls. He has seen one attack the huge cone of Picea nobilis, 

 making the scales fly and leaving nothing but the main stalk. Its chief haunts 

 are, however, the fir plantations, where it finds a supply of food at all seasons. 

 (See Ussher, Birds of Ireland, p. 31.) The young are fed on insects like the other 

 Par idee. [F. c. R. j.] 



6. Song Period. Sometimes begins at the end of January and may be heard 

 every month till the end of June (Ussher, loc. cit.). [F. c. R. j.] 



MARSH-TIT [Parus palustris Linnaeus. Willow-biter, blackcap, coal- 

 head. French, nonnette ; German, Sumpfmeise ; Italian, cincia bigia], 



I. Description. The marsh-tit is readily distinguished in the field from the 

 coal-tit by the absence of the white area on the hind-neck, and absence of the 

 white wing bars, but it is less readily distinguished from the willow-tit. The 

 marsh-tit has the crown, nape, and hind-neck glossy black, the sides of the head 

 dull white inclining to rufous on the sides of the neck, while the back is olive-brown, 

 slightly rufous on the rump. The wings and tail are ash-brown, the remiges having 

 paler free edges. The chin and throat are black, and the breast and abdomen dull 

 white, shading into buff on the flanks. The sexes are alike. (PI. 63.) The juvenile 

 plumage differs from that of the adult only in being conspicuously duller. Length 

 4-5 in. [116 mm.], [w. P. P.] 



2. Distribution. This species is found throughout the greater part of Europe, 

 but is subject to considerable variation and has been divided into many sub-species. 

 Our British birds are resident and form a local race, the British marsh-tit, P. palustris 

 dresseri, Stejneger, which is confined to Great Britain, while races from Scandinavia, 

 Italy, and the east, west, and middle portions of the great European plain have 



