64 THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES. 



incredible number of feathers, and perhaps a 

 little hair. No other nest excels in beauty that 

 of the Long-tailed Tit a wonderful and charming 

 piece of handiwork, when we bear in mind that 

 it is put together by one of the smallest of our 

 native birds, with a bill little over one -eighth 

 of an inch in length, and with a body that could 

 be put inside a thimble ! The eggs are from 

 six to ten in number, white in ground colour,, 

 faintly speckled with brownish red. 



widely The nest of the MARSH TITMOUSE (Parus 



ted * palustris) may also be found in the lanes and 

 hedges. This bird is readily distinguished from 

 its allies by its rufous brown back, and black nape ; 

 and especially by its loud, oft-repeated note of 

 tay-tay-tay. Its habits are much the same as 

 those of the other Titmice, only it is more partial 

 to the hedgerows, and searches the lower vegeta- 

 tion much more than the highest trees. Its nest is 

 made in May in a hollow stump in the hedges, 

 and is composed of dry grass, moss, wool, feathers, 

 and hair. The from six to ten eggs are white, 

 spotted with reddish brown, and so closely resemble 

 those of the Blue and Coal Titmice as to be in- 

 distinguishable with any degree of certainty. As 

 soon as the young are reared the brood appears 

 to separate, and for the remainder of the year the 

 Marsh Tit is one of the least gregarious of the 

 Titmice, yet often mixes with its congeners in 

 their errant wanderings. The nests of all the 

 other species of Titmice may occasionally be 

 found in the hedges and the lanes, but the two 

 species here given are the most characteristic of 

 these localities. 



The birds we have already noticed have been. 



