488 BRITISH BIRDS. 



in winter : certainly it is by far the most frequently seen at that season ; 

 and its gregarious habits, adopted after the family are safely reared, 

 seldom fail to arrest the observer's attention, as in a merry little party 

 they flit along from bush to bush before him. The Long-tailed Tit 

 is a thorough nomad in winter, and wanders far in search of its food. 

 Nor does it appear to congregate with other Titmice to any great 

 extent, a family of birds usually keeping to themselves. Ever restless, 

 they flit from tree to tree. Here and there you may see the branches 

 tremble as the " Bottle-Tits " explore the twigs. Sometimes one or two 

 of the party are on the outside branches, and their peculiar attitudes 

 amuse and interest you. But not a moment are they still. First one 

 leaves the twigs, uttering its oft-repeated call-note, and in a some- 

 what slow and undulating flight comes still nearer to you. It is soon 

 followed by another, another, and another, until the little party are all 

 together again, busy and lively as before. You may follow them the whole 

 length of the shrubbery and into the tall hedges of the fields beyond ; yet 

 their actions are precisely the same. They will flit from spray to spray 

 before you, rarely taking a long flight, and always keep close company. 

 Sometimes they will visit the bushes close to the ground ; and often they 

 will explore every twig on the topmost branches of the tallest trees. They 

 are not at all shy birds, although their rapid movements are sometimes apt 

 to lead the observer to suppose that they are full of wariness. 



The Long-tailed Tit is a pretty common bird in the woods near Pau. 

 The winter before last I was often much amused by observing the habits 

 of this species. These little birds seemed to find few or no insects on the 

 branches of the trees; but gnats were numerous in the sunshine, and it was 

 amusing to watch their efforts to catch them on the wing. On the whole 

 they seemed to be successful flycatchers, judging from the pertinacity with 

 which they kept up the pursuit ; but their long tails seemed to be dread- 

 fully in their way. When they were flying from branch to branch they 

 had no difficulty in getting sufficient " way " on to make the tail follow 

 horizontally ; but the moment they began flycatching, and their flights 

 became shorter and slower, they were entirely unable to hold up their 

 tails, and the little things had to fly up at the flock of gnats, their tails 

 hanging down and their little wings going with all their might. In this 

 way I watched them suspended in the air under the gnats for some seconds, 

 when they glided into a branch, either because their wings were tired or 

 because they had caught a gnat and took a rest to swallow it. 



In early spring the Long-tailed Tit ceases to be a gregarious species, 

 and the families of those birds that have lived together throughout the 

 autumn and winter pair and disperse for the purpose of breeding. Its 

 nesting-grounds are the well-timbered districts, in shrubberies, woods, 

 plantations, gardens, and orchards, also in tall hedges and in thick under- 



