126 



KNOWLEDGE 



[June 1, 1890. 



is a resident and fairly common in the British Islands. 

 Perhaps the most intorostin!;; point in its life history is in 



Fig. 1. — Xcat of a Long-t.iiled Tit in a Gorso Busli. 



connection with the nest, which talces a fortnight to build 

 and is a perfect work of art. In shape it is similar to 

 that of a wren, bei);g long 

 and oval with a small hole 

 in the side near the top. 



This curious shaped nest 

 has given to its maker the 

 name of bottle-tit, and when 

 the bird is sitting inside its 

 long tail is turned over its 

 back, and often protrudes 

 fr ym the entrance hole. The 

 nest is made of moss and 

 lichens, woven and cemented 

 together with spiders' webs. 

 The outside generally re- 

 sembles its surroundings 

 closely; when in a lichen- 

 covered bush or tree it is 

 often covered with silvery 

 lichens, while, should the 

 tree be mossy, the nest, too, 

 is often mossy. 



The bird does not, how- 

 ever, seem to understand to 

 the full the protective ad- 

 vantages of this plan, for 

 one found in a green holly 

 bush was covered with white 

 lichens, and was thus much 

 more conspicuous than if it 



surroundings ; but one may always find exceptions where 

 the bird has erred and the wrong material has been used. 



'{'he nost shown in the illustration was built in a furze 

 bush and was covered with lichen. A few feathers ciin be 

 seen peeping out of the entrance hole ; this may bo observed 

 in almost every nest of a long-tailed tit, since the birds 

 always line — or rather fill — the nest with feathers, and even 

 add feathers after they have laid eggs. This, indeed, is very 

 necessary to keep the eggs warm, for they are so numerous 

 that they are one on the top of the other, and the tiny bird 

 cannot possibly cover them all. 



The oyster catcher (ILnnafojius (istrdlei/us), the eggs of 

 which are figured in the second illustration, is a widely 

 different bird from the one with which we have just been 

 dealing. 



It inhabits our seashores all the year round in consider- 

 able numbers; in winter in Hocks, while in summer it breeds 

 more or less in small colonies. Although the eggs in the 

 present case are a very good example of our subject, yet the 

 breeding habits of the bird as a whole are not altogether 

 consistent with protective resemblance. When the eggs 

 are laid in a scoop in the sand or shingle they very closely 

 resemble their surroundings both in ground colour, marking, 

 and form, 'fhey are naturally difficult to find, too, in this 

 position, and more especially because the bird makes a 

 number of sham scoops round the tenanted one, presumably 

 to mislead the ignorant. But the eggs are often laid in a 

 shallow hollow in the rooks or in a scoop in the grass, and 

 when this is the case they are comparatively as conspicuous 

 as they are hidden when in the shingle. The reason 

 for this curious change of habit is not quite apparent. 

 It cannot be — at all events not in all cases — for want 

 of shingle or sand in the locality, for they have often 

 been found placed in the rocks when plenty of suitable 

 shingle was available within a few yards. The shingle 

 would seem to be their natural and original nesting place, 

 not only because of the colour of the eggs, but because the 

 birds always place stones, shells, or some such hard 



Fio. 2. — Eggs of an Oyster Catclier amongst Stones. 



had been made entirely of green moss. Many species are 

 noted for making their nests of materials akin to the 



particles beneath the eggs when they are laid on rock ov 

 grass. 



