NESTING-SERIES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 27 



No. 72 a. BRITISH COAL-TITMOUSE. 



(Parus ater britannicus.) 



The British race of the Coal-Titmouse differs slightly from the 

 Continental form in having the back of a more olive-brown colour. On 

 this account it has been separated under the name of Parus britannicus. 

 It is a common resident throughout the British Isles, but is most 

 numerous in Scotland. Its principal food consists of caterpillars and 

 other insects ; but nuts and seeds are also eaten. The nest, which is 

 placed in a hole in a tree, or in the crevice in a wall, etc., is made of 

 moss and wool and lined with hair and feathers. From seven to eleven 

 white eggs spotted with light red are laid towards the end of April or in 



**' Hertfordshire, May. 



Presented by TV. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Esq. 



No. 73. LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. (^Egithalus roseus ) 



Our resident form of the Long-tailed Tit or u Bottle-Tit " is generally 

 distributed throughout the British Islands and ranges thence across 

 France and West Germany to North Italy and the northern part of the 

 Balkan Peninsula. As in its allies, the food consists of insects and 

 their larvae. The oval nest, formed of moss and wool felted together 

 with spiders' webs and encrusted with lichens, is thickly lined with 

 feathers and has the entrance in the upper part of the side. It is 

 usually placed in a bush, such as a holly, whitethorn, or furze, but, 

 occasionally, in the lichen-covered branches of a tree. From seven 

 to ten or more eggs are laid, after about the middle of April j they are 

 white, with indistinct red spots. 



Suffolk, May. 

 Presented by T. Har court -Powell, Esq. 



No. 74. GREAT TITMOUSE. (Parus major.) 



Our largest species of Tit, commonly called the " Ox-eye," is generally 

 distributed over the British Islands throughout the year., It feeds 

 chiefly on insects as well as on seeds, nuts, and buds. The rather 

 flat nest of moss, hair, feathers, etc., is usually placed in a hole 

 in a tree or wall, but almost any convenient situation may be 

 selected. The eggs are white with light red spots, and vary from 

 six to twelve in number. 



Norfolk, June. 

 Presented by Lord Walsingham, F.R.S. 



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