92 BRITISH BIRDS 



At night they roost huddled together in a cluster composed, in 

 some cases, of half a dozen or eight birds in a row, with three or 

 four others perched on their backs, and one or two more resting on 

 these. 



Early in spring these curious little companies break up, and the 

 song or love-call of the male bird, so unlike that of the other tits, 

 may be heard a prolonged trill, low and aerial, and very delicate 

 in sound. The nest is placed on a tree or bush, and is long in 

 building, and a marvel of bird architecture. It is domed, oval in 

 shape, with a small aperture near the top, and is composed of moss, 

 lichens, and hair closely felted, and the interior thickly lined with 

 feathers. Macgillivray says that the feathers taken from one nest 

 numbered 2,379. Six to eleven eggs are laid, sometimes a larger 

 number. They are pure white or pearly grey in ground-colour, 

 thinly spotted with light red and a few faint purple marks. 



The continental form of the long-tailed tit, Acredula caudata, 

 differs from A. rosea in wanting the dark stripe on the head ; spe- 

 cimens without the stripe are sometimes met with in this country, 

 but whether or no they are visitors from the Continent is not known. 



Great Titmouse. 

 Parus major. 



Head, throat, and a band passing down the centre of the breast 

 black ; back olive-green ; cheeks and a spot on the nape white ; 

 breast and belly yellow. Length, six inches. 



The great tit, or oxeye, is a resident species throughout the 

 British Islands, and inhabits woods and plantations, and is also 

 seen in orchards, gardens, and shrubberies. He is nowhere abun- 

 dant, yet very well known, being one of those species it would be 

 difficult for even the least observant person to overlook. He has a 

 comparatively gay plumage, and the various colours are disposed 

 and contrasted in a striking way. The intense glossy black of the 

 head, throat, and broad band which divides the bright greenish 

 vellow of the under parts lengthways, make him a conspicuous object. 



His voice, for so small a bird, is a powerful and far-reaching 

 one ; and his frequently uttered spring call, or song, composed of 

 two notes repeated two or three times in succession, strikes so 

 sharply on the sense that it compels attention, like ringing blows 



