25 



motion, looking for its food high and low, hither and 

 thither, now scrambling up some old oak, now uttering 

 its harsh note from a birch-tree, and anon flying off 

 again to a distant fir, never tiring, ever happy. 



The nest is often placed in the hole of a tree 

 at no great height from the ground, or is sometimes 

 secreted among the decayed roots of an old pollard ; 

 but I once found a nest of the Cole Tit in a hay- 

 stack at Little Gaddesden, near Berkhampstead in 

 Hertfordshire. This is not an usual site. 



MARSH TIT (Parus palustris). Local names, 

 Black-cap, Tom- tit. Thinly distributed. This Tit, 

 as appears from its name, is more addicted to low, 

 damp, and uncultivated grounds than any of its con- 

 geners. It may be observed frequenting the reedy 

 ditches and banks of the river around Eton and 

 Windsor, and Mr. Wolley has seen it in his garden 

 at Eton. 



' The Marsh Tit is immediately distinguished 

 from the Cole Tit by having no white patch on 

 the nape of the neck, nor any white spots on either 

 row of the wing-coverts.'* 



LONG-TAILED TIT (Parus caudatus). Local names, 

 Ragamuffin, Long-tailed Tom-tit, Bottle-tit, and Bum- 

 barrel. This bird is very common, and, like all its 

 congeners, is extremely restless, flitting from branch 

 to branch, from tree to tree. The nest is indeed a 

 beautiful structure, and an irresistible prize to the 



* Yarrell, vol. i. pp. 374, 375. 



