TITMICE. 317 



them before the trunks are so far decayed ; and few 

 birds nestle there except the grouse and eagle, and it 

 is not very likely to occupy the mere scratch in the 

 heath that satisfies the former, far less to invade the 

 eyrie of the latter. The habits of this remote bird are 

 of course very little known, but it is probable that, 

 from the places which it inhabits, it depends, more than 

 any other of the genus, on vegetable food, the ripe 

 and probably the green berries of the juniper, which 

 are on the bushes all the winter. 



The species confined to England is the long-tailed 

 titmouse, which is of the same weight as the colemouse, 

 but has the tail about an inch longer. It is a very pretty 

 little bird, having a sort of rosy tint over the greater 

 part of it. The throat, cheeks, forehead, and crown 

 all white, with which the secondaries of the wings and 

 the outside feathers of the tail are edged. A band of 

 black runs backward above each eye to the nape, from 

 their junction at which a black mesial line extends 

 along the whole of the back ; and the quills of the 

 wings and middle feathers of the tail are also black. 

 The remainder of the upper part is rose colour, and the 

 under part grey, with a shade of the same. The nest 

 is found in a thick tree or bush, and where the locality 

 suits, an evergreen is preferred. It is constructed with 

 great neatness and care, made soft by abundance of 

 feathers, domed over, and formed with two openings, 

 so that the bird neither needs to turn in the nest, nor 

 is in any way incommoded by its long tail, which pro- 

 jects from the one opening of the structure. As is the 

 case with all the other species, the eggs are numerous. 

 2 E 2 



