Birds of the Hedgerow 



most beautiful songsters that visit our shores and 

 in some people's estimation surpasses the Nightin- 

 gale. Certainly its song is more sustained, but in 

 my opinion its notes lack the fulness and depth so 

 characteristic of the latter bird. 



Another little denizen of the lane is the Long- 

 tailed Tit. Birdland has few prettier sights to 

 show than a family of these little birds working a 

 hedgerow in winter, playing a kind of follow-my- 

 leader game, flying from tree to tree or bush to 

 bush in Indian file with rapid undulating flight 

 and making quite a respectable appearance as 

 regards numbers. Though closely related to the 

 other Tits, they are distinguished by having the 

 tail longer than the wing and also by their colour- 

 ing, which is black and rose colour above and 

 whitish tinged with light rose below. The head, 

 too, is dullish white marked with broad black eye- 

 brows extending along the sides of the crown. 



But its architectural skill is, perhaps, its chief 

 claim to distinction. The nest is a truly exquisite 

 structure, rivalling, if it does not surpass, the 

 most beautiful homes of the Gold Crest, the Chaf- 

 finch or the Reed Warbler. It is large, compared 

 with the size of the tiny builders, domed, having 

 the entrance hole at the side near the top, beauti- 

 fully soft, yet firmly knit, composed principally of 

 moss, wool and spider's web, strengthened with a 

 few grasses and plentifully adorned with lichens 

 and thickly lined with feathers. 

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