170 THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 



other names. It seems the most restless of little 

 creatures, and is all day long in a state of progres- 

 sion from tree to tree, from hedge to hedge, jerking 

 through the air with its long tail like a ball of 

 feathers, or threading the branches of a tree, se- 

 veral, folio wing each other in a little stream; the 

 leading bird uttering a shrill cry of twit, twit, twit, 

 and away they all scuttle to be first, stop for a second, 

 and then are away again, observing the same order 

 and precipitation the whole day long. The space 

 travelled by these diminutive creatures in the course 

 of their progresses from the first move till the 

 evening roost must be considerable ; yet, by their 

 constant alacrity and animation, they appear fully 

 equal to their daily task. We have no bird more 

 remarkable for its family association than this parus. 

 It is never seen alone, the young ones continuing 

 to accompany each other from the period of their 

 hatching until their pairing in spring. Its food is 

 entirely insects, which it seeks among mosses and 

 lichens, the very smallest being captured by the 

 diminutive bill of this creature. Its nest is as sin- 

 gular in construction as the bird itself. Even in 

 years long passed away, when, a nesting boy, I 

 strung my plunder on the benty grass, it was my 

 admiration ; and I never see it now without secretly 

 lauding the industry of these tiny architects. It is 

 shaped like a bag, and externally fabricated of 

 moss and different herbaceous lichens, collected 



