BIRDS 91 



Tit, Long-tailed (BOTTLE TIT). This little bird, generally distributed and 

 resident in the British Isles, is unique in its shape and the character of its 

 nest. The bird has a long tail quite out of proportion to its size, and appears 

 like a tiny ball of fluff with a long feather stuck in it. It is distinguished by 

 the long tail, its white, black, and rose-coloured plumage. The head is mostly 

 white, with some streaks of black ; the back is black in the centre, but sides 

 and scapulars are rose-red ; the under parts white, with a rosy tinge. There 

 is a curious ring of orange-yellow round the eye, which when first seen gives 

 the appearance of an inflamed eyelid. The note is a tiny rattling sound, and 

 the " Zee-zee-zee " common to all the tits. The nest is quite unique, built 

 like an oval ball or bag, with entrance at the side near the top. It takes 

 ten or twelve days to make, is placed in thick bushes or hedges and trees, 

 and is made of moss, wool, and cobwebs, decorated with lichens and lined 

 thickly with feathers in one case 2,379 were counted in one nest. Ten to 

 twelve eggs are laid, white, with a few pale red specks ; sometimes unspotted. 

 When sitting, this tit brings its long tail backward over its head, and 

 it may be often seen sticking out of the entrance, a sign that the bird is 

 " at home." 



Tit, Marsh. Only found in England and Wales. Head and throat black, 

 no white on nape (the feature distinguishing it from the Coal Tit) ; upper parts 

 greyish brown ; wings and tail bluish grey ; cheeks white, inclining to buff ; 

 under parts greyish white. A silent bird on the whole, except for its family 

 call-note. Its true " song " begins with a loud, clear note, repeated seven 

 times. Its nest, generally placed in a natural hole in a decayed tree, is a bulky 

 structure of moss lined with fur, hair, or down ; the eggs are white, with 

 a few dark red spots. The bird is not confined, as its name would suggest, 

 to marshy districts, but may be found in woods and gardens. Its food is 

 chiefly insects, but in autumn and winter it also eats berries, beech mast, 

 nuts, seeds of the larch, etc. 



Tit, Willow. Has only recently been recognized as a distinct species. Breeds 

 in Scotland as well as England. The absence of gloss on its black head and 

 neck as well as its rounded tail when partly closed are said to distinguish 

 it from the Marsh Tit. The nesting hole is stated to be excavated by the bird, 

 and the material used is scanty. 



Twite (locally known as " MOUNTAIN LINNET," etc.), a little brown bird, 

 grey beneath, like a Redpoll, but differing in having the red colour on the rump 

 only ; white edges, showing plainly to the inner primaries ; a yellow beak, and 

 no black on the chin. The hen and young lack the red altogether. Does not 

 breed in the South and East of England, where it is only seen in the winter ; but 

 is resident on moorland in Central and Northern England, and in Scotland and 

 Ireland. It nests in very variable places bushes, heather, creepers, on the 

 ground under stones, in walls, crevices, rabbit-burrows constructing its nest 

 of roots, grass, moss, twigs, lined with wool, hair, and feathers. It is stated 

 to adorn its nest conspicuously in many cases with one or at the most two 



