THE LONG-TAILED TIT. . 409 



than could be made of any of them singly. The moss 

 gives bulk and stifmess, and the silky filaments cohesion ; 

 and as the birds are microscopic in their vision, have perfect 

 command over their short bills, and apply these materials by 

 very small portions at a time, the fabric is beautifully put 

 together, and when there are twigs in the way, the nest is so 

 closely worked upon these, that it cannot be removed entire 

 unless they are taken along with it. Externally it is coated 

 with lichens and liverworts, applied in small pieces, but so 

 close as to hide all the substantive materials, and so firmly 

 worked in, that not a bit falls off. The inside is carefully 

 lined with feathers, the tubes or quills of which are worked 

 into the fabric, so that nothing can be felt internally but the 

 down and sides, of which there are several falls, as there are 

 in the clothing feathers of a bird. The whole nest, dome 

 and all, is lined in this manner; so that the nest, when 

 finished, is equally secure against rain and change of tem- 

 perature. 



The entrance is by an aperture in the side, towards the 

 top of the structure ; and there are, in some instances, two 

 such apertures, the one nearly opposite the other, the feathers 

 around which are so worked into the fabric, as, when not 

 pushed aside by the birds, to form a sort of curtain. The 

 interior is usually of sufficient size to contain both birds 

 during the night ; and they, in the case of two apertures, 

 sit with the head of the male out at the one, and the tail 

 of the female out at the other, so that both apertures are 

 partially closed, and the male is ready to start out, as soon 

 as there is light enough for hunting. But, notwithstanding 

 these precautions, the long tails of the birds are often so 

 much bent, torn, and otherwise injured, during the incu- 

 bation, that they do not regain their peculiar flight, which is 

 something resembling that of a short dart armed with a long 

 feather, till after the moult. 



