BEARDED TIT. 63 



moss, very closely put together, and interwoven with 

 cocoons that cover the chrysalides of insects and eggs 

 of spiders ; externally it is covered with lichens, and 

 inside very thickly lined with feathers. An instance 

 is mentioned in the Zoologist, where the outside of 

 the nest was ornamented all over with pieces of paper. 

 The entrance is by a hole at the side, near the top, so 

 that the nest appears domed over ; as snug a little 

 place for the young as they could wish. Morris 

 mentions a case where the feathers forming the in- 

 side of the nest were counted, and amounted to the 

 extraordinary number of 2379. What does the bird 

 do with her long tail ? According to Seebohm she 

 places it over her back. Some naturalists declare 

 that there are two holes in the nest, the second one 

 opposite the entrance at the back, through which the 

 bird puts her tail ; but I have never come across one 

 of this description, though I have seen many of the 

 nests. 



The eggs, seven to twelve, and occasionally more, 

 should be looked for towards the end of April ; they 

 are very tiny, almost as small as the Goldcrest's ; 

 often they are quite white, but generally they are 

 spotted with red. 



BEARDED TIT. 



PANURUS BIARMICUS. 



Family PASSERID^;. Sub-family PARING. Genus PANURUS. 

 Pinnock Least Butcher Bird Reed Pheasant. 



The Bearded Tit must be looked upon as one of 

 our rarer birds, and one which you are not very likely 



