452 PERCHING BIRDS. 



by ornithologists to represent the type of a genus including several other species. 

 Distinguished from the true tits by the presence of a crest on the head, the members 

 of the genus differ from an allied group of crested tits (Macrolophus) by the tail 

 being square or slightly forked, whereas in the latter it is rounded. Moreover, the 

 black abdominal band, found in the last-named genus, is wanting in the present 

 one. The home of the crested tit must be sought in large pine-forests, or extensive 

 stretches of beech-wood and mixed timber. It is a shy and retiring species, not 

 courting observation like many of its cousins, but shunning the haunts of men even 

 in winter. In the spring we have met with it in small droves, in pairs, and even 

 singly. Though shy and timid, if conscious of being pursued, the crested tit when 

 left alone often allows a quiet observer to enjoy a close inspection of its plumage, 

 and the pale grey crest, jet-black throat, and buffish under-parts form a pleasing 

 harmony of colour. It has rather a knack of perching overhead, especially if the 

 observer be riding, probably impelled to the survey by curiosity. Anyone who has 

 trained his ear to recognise the cries of birds, will soon become familiar with the 

 liquid call-note, prrit or chrrit, which may often be heard before the tiny musician 

 has revealed its whereabouts. The crested tit has a pretty little song, generally 

 uttered when a male bird is playfully pursuing one of his companions in mock 

 anger. Mr. C. Thusnall says : " I have generally seen them in the top boughs of 

 the firs, but they frequently come on to the ground, apparently to pick up a seed 

 that may drop from the fir-cones ; at anyrate, you see them fly down, look in the 

 grass, and fly up again immediately. They appear to remain in families, as you 

 seldom see a single one. As a rule, they prefer the rotten stem of a fir, about 

 twelve or fourteen feet high, and bore a hole in the tree from two feet to eight feet 

 above the ground. I have also found the nest in old stumps of very large trees within 

 six inches of the ground. Their nidification is therefore more like that of the coal- 

 tit in that respect." In Rhenish Prussia, the crested tit lays in the deserted nests 

 of the crow, magpie, or squirrel, as well as in hollow trees ; the nest being made 

 of moss, wool and feathers. The eggs are white, spotted all over with bright red. 

 When the pairing-season is over, the crested tits band together with tree-creepers, 

 goldcrests and other tits, and scour the woods in search of food ; the crested tits 

 leading the van. They do not work the branches as minutely as other tits, 

 preferring to range more widely. 



The crested tit possesses an elongated crest, often raised; the forehead and 

 sides of the head are white, mottled slightly with grey, the feathers of the crown 

 black, edged with white, the cheeks and sides of the head white, the throat deep 

 black. The upper-parts are greyish brown, so that the bird appears sombre upon 

 the wing ; the lower-parts are fulvous. 



Agreeing with the true tits in the absence of a head -crest, 

 Long-Tailed Tits. ,,,;?,. 



the long -tailed tits, as represented by the European species, are 



sufficiently distinguished by the elongation of the appendage from which they take 



their name. We select for illustration the white-headed long-tailed tit (Acredula 



eavdata), as being the type of the genus. Inhabiting the northern districts of 



Europe, and occurring also in many parts of Germany, its range somewhat overlaps 



that of the form termed the British long-tailed tit. The species under consideration 



is a tolerably common and well-known bird throughout the whole of Switzerland, 



