306 THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 



The LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE is familiarly known throughout England, and is desig- 

 nated under different titles, according to the locality in which it resides, some of its 

 popular names being derived from its shape, and others from its crest. In some parts of 

 the country it is called " Long Tom," while in others it goes by the name of " Bottle- 

 crested Tit," or " Poke-Pudding/' the latter word being a provincial rendering of the useful 

 culinary apparatus termed a pudding-bag. 



This pretty little bird is a notable frequenter of trees, hedge-rows, and orchards, and is 

 remarkable for its sociable habits, being generally seen in little troops of six or eight in 

 number. It appears that the young birds always remain with their parents throughout the 

 whole of the first year, so that when the brood happens to be a large one, as many as six- 

 teen Long-tailed Titmice may be seen hopping and skipping about together. The troop is 

 always under the command of one bird, probably one of the parents, who takes the lead, 

 and is copied by the others, so that they seem to be playing at a constant game of " Follow 

 my leader." The leader has a peculiar chirruping cry, which is easily recognisable, and 

 which is always uttered as it flits from one branch to another. I have often seen these 

 birds threading their way among the pea-sticks at the earliest hour of daylight, flirting 

 and coquetting with their long tails, hopping and chirping away most merrily, until the 

 world had fairly begun its morning labours, when they left the gardens and betook them- 

 selves to the more retired localities of the fields and lofty hedgerow trees. 



During the day the Long-tailed Titmice are always on the move, flitting restlessly from 

 spot to spot, and bidding total defiance to fatigue. At night the whole troop perches on 

 the same spot, and the birds gather themselves into a compact mass, like that which 

 is formed by the wrens under similar circumstances. They seem to be careful of their 

 comfort, for each bird strives to get nearest to the middle, and on a cold evening they fight 

 vigorously until their positions are settled. When sleeping, they form a shapeless mass of 

 soft puffy feathers, in which hardly a tail or a wing can be distinguished. 



The wings of this species are rather short, but are more powerful than might be 

 imagined, and the flight of the bird exactly resembles that of a boy's paper-headed dart 

 when thrown into the air. 



As far as is known, the Long-tailed Titmouse feeds exclusively on insects, and on 

 account of its microscopical eyes is able to see and to catch the very minutest. The 

 service which is rendered to agriculture by even a single nest of these birds is almost 

 invaluable, for at all seasons of the year they continue to obtain their food, catching the 

 perfect insect in the summer months, and feeding on the eggs, the hidden larvae, and 

 chrysalides in the winter. They especially are useful in clearing off the larvae or " grubs" 

 of the various saw-flies, especially that black lanky species which infests the gooseberry 

 bushes, and destroys so many of the blossoms and young berries. Sometimes it has been 

 observed to open the green pods of the broom, and to eat the seeds, carrying away some of 

 the younger and more tender seeds to its nest. Perhaps it may eat these substances 

 medicinally, as its ordinary food is of an animal character. The bird generally prefers the 

 seed of the white flowering broom as an article of diet, but has been noticed in the act of 

 eating those of the yellow variety in default of the more approved white broom. 



The voice of this species is a kind of soft and lively twittering chirp, varied accord- 

 ing to circumstances. Sometimes it will either pick up from some other bird, or invent a 

 new note, and will be so pleased with its new acquisition that it skips about the 

 branches for an hour or two exulting in its own cleverness, and continually uttering 

 the cry of which it is so proud. But after a while its attention is taken by a peculiarly 

 fat insect, or by ,one of the little quarrels which, on account of their excitable nature, 

 are so frequent among these birds, and it straightway forgets its lately acquired 

 accomplishment. 



The nest of this species is undoubtedly the most wonderful example of bird architec- 

 ture that is to be found in the British Islands, and is not exceeded in beauty by the home 

 of any bird whatever. In form it somewhat resembles an egg, and it is built of moss, hair, 

 a very little wool, the cocoon webs of spiders, and the silken hammocks of certain cater- 

 pillars, all woven into each other in the most admirable manner. The exterior of the nest 

 is spangled with silvery lichens, which generally correspond in colour with the bark of the 



