378 PARID^l. 



trees it resembles other Tits, being active and lively, 

 almost incessantly in motion, hopping or flitting from 

 branch to branch in search of food ; but is more select in 

 its choice than other Tits appear to be, and confines itself 

 almost, if not entirely, to insects and their larvae. The 

 nest of this species is another example of ingenious con- 

 struction, combining beauty of appearance with security 

 and warmth. In shape it is nearly oval, with one small 

 hole in the upper part of the side by which the bird enters. 

 I have never seen more than one hole. The outside of 

 this nest sparkles with silver-coloured lichens adhering to 

 a firm texture of moss and wool, the inside profusely lined 

 with soft feathers. The nest is generally placed in the 

 middle of a thick bush, and so firmly fixed, that it is 

 mostly found necessary to cut out the portion of the bush 

 containing it, if desirous of preserving the natural appear- 

 ance and form of the nest. In this species, the female is 

 known to be the nest maker, and to have been occupied 

 from a fortnight to three weeks in completing her habita- 

 tion. In this she deposits from ten to twelve eggs ; but 

 a larger number are occasionally found : they are small 

 and white, with a few pale red specks, frequently quite 

 plain, measuring seven lines in length, and five lines in 

 breadth. The young family of the year keep company 

 with the parent birds during their first autumn and winter, 

 and generally crowd close together on the same branch at 

 roosting time, looking, when thus huddled up, like a shape- 

 less lump of feathers only. These birds have several notes, 

 on the sound of which they assemble and keep together ; 

 one of these call-notes is soft and scarcely audible ; a second 

 is a louder chirp or twitter, and a third is of a hoarser kind. 

 The Long-tailed Tit is a common bird in the southern 

 and western counties of England from Sussex to Corn- 



