72 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



[vol. vin. 



As I have searched nearly every likely place in this and 

 neighbouring parishes without further success, the Willow- 

 Tit may be consideied rare in this district. 



Robert E. Cheesman. 



WILLOW-TIT BREEDING IN CHESHIRE. 



On April 21st, 1914, I watched at close quarters a pair of 

 Willow-Tits (Parits a. kleinschmidti) feeding in an oak at 

 Dunham Woodhouses, Cheshire. I followed them to a large 



NESTING-HOLE OF THE WILLOW-TIT. 

 {Photographed hy H. H. Storey). 



willow on the bank of the River Bollin, and foimd them 

 at their nesting-hole in a rotten part of the tree. Wlien I 

 visited the place again on May 27th I found the birds busy 

 feeding their young — almost entirely on small greenish-yellow 

 grubs. On both dates they uttered almost perpetually a 

 " chee " note, occasionally prefacing it with a few thin, 

 sharp notes. I noticed that one of the birds was rather 

 duller in appearance and brouner on the croA\Ti than the 

 other, though the bro\\-n-black colour of the cap was quite 

 evident in both. 



