on hand-rearing long-tailed tits.



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each other at night, singing a low song (the only time of day they

attempted a “song,” though calling all day long), so when the one

escaped I feared the other would mope, besides being chilly at night,

so I put a fine cock white spotted blue-throat into the cage thinking

that he would do for the tit to huddle up to at night; however, with

a cry (I persume) of “ You German ! ” he flung himself upon the

blue-throat’s back and proceeded to hammer his head, so I had to

remove the blue-throat. The tit is very fond of my phalarope,

whose cage he has always shared, and every evening he gets down to

the ground and squats up against the phalarope, who at first resented

this and swore at the tit, though he never offered to peck it; now,

however, he has got used to it, and any evening one can see them

sitting side by side on a piece of fresh turf in the corner of the cage,

though the tit goes up to a perch a little later in the evening to roost,

the phalarope spends his days out-of-doors in a large enclosure, and

only comes in at night for fear of rats, when the tit greets him with

cheerful twitters.


Both this tit and the one that escaped were fond of bathing,

and took their first bath as soon as they could fly, and frequently

washed quite late in the evening.


I found a very late nest with young in it in the first week of

July and took four, thinking I should then have a good chance of

getting two pairs. All went well for four days when I foolishly gave

the four little tits a feed of rather unpleasant looking yellow flies, of

which I found a great quantity in a hay field; from their numbers I

might have guessed that they were bad for birds, but being short of

live food I used these flies, with the result that I found all the tits

dead the following morning, so that I have only my one bird left.


I am certain it was the flies that killed them as they were all very

well last thing at night when I fed them with the flies. If any of our

members has a long-tailed tit to dispose of I should be very grateful

if he or she would let me know, as these are very gregarious birds

and I am sure two would do better than one, especially in the

winter.


I have seen more long-tailed tits’ nests this season than I ever

remember before, but I didn’t disturb any of the other nests, because

up to the middle of June I had my two birds, and by then the other



