306 CASSELL'S liOOK OF BIRDS. 



among the thick reeds. Were it not for their note betraying them, they would be seldom seen. The 

 young, until their autumnal moult, vary in plumage from the old birds ; a stripe of blackish feathers 

 extends from the hind part of the neck to the rump. It has been said that the males and females 

 keep separate during the winter, but I have always observed them in company ; they appear to keep 

 in families until the pairing time, in the manner of the Long-tailed Tit, differing in this respect, that 

 you will occasionally find them congregated in large flocks, more particularly during the month of 

 October, when they are migrating from their breeding-places." " To the above interesting account," 

 says Mr. Gould, " we may add that they are to be met with occasionally on the banks of the Thames ; 

 from the thick reed-beds of Erith, in Kent, throughout the course of the river to Oxford ; but their 

 visits are by no means regular, or to be calculated on with accuracy." 



A contributor to Mr. Loudon's magazine saw a flock of eight or ten of these beautiful little 

 creatures on the wing, in a large piece of reeds near Barking Creek, Essex. " They were just 

 topping the reeds in their flight, and uttering in full chorus their sweetly musical note, which may be 

 compared to the sound of very small cymbals ; it is clear and ringing, though soft, and corresponds 

 well with the delicacy and beauty of the form and colour of the birds. Several flocks were seen 

 during the same morning. Their flight was short and low, only sufficient to clear the reeds, on the 

 seedy tops of which, like most of their tribe, they alighted to feed, with the head or back downwards. 

 If disturbed, they immediately descend by running, or, rather, by dropping to the bottom of the stem, 

 where they creep and flit, perfectly concealed from view by the closeness of the covert and the 

 resembling tints of their plumage." 



The LONG-TAILED TITS (Orites) have a short, compact body; long, graduated tail, incised 

 at the centre of its extremity ; moderate-sized wings, in which the fourth and fifth quills exceed the 

 rest in length ; a very short, much arched, and pointed beak ; and delicate feet. The sexes are alike 

 in colour, and the yonng differ but slightly from their parents. 



THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 



The Long-tailed Titmouse ( Orites caiidatus) is black on the centre of the back and white on 

 the head ; the under side is reddish white, and the wings black, their hinder quills being broadly 

 bordered with white ; the tail is black, the three outer feathers spotted with white. The young are 

 pale black on the side of the head, back, and wings, and of a whitish hue on the top of the head and 

 on the under side of the body. The eye is dark brown in the adults, its imfeathered margin is light 

 red, in the young bright yellow. The beak and feet are black. This species is six inches long and 

 seven inches and three-quarters broad ; the wing measures two inches and a half, and the tail three 

 inches and a half. 



The Long-tailed Tit inhabits the whole of Europe, from its most northern countries as far south 

 as the Pyrenees and Alps, but is met with comparatively rarely in Greece and Spain. Like some 

 of its congeners, it prefers taking up its abode on fir and pine trees, but, if these are not attainable, 

 usually frequents orchards or well-cultivated woodland districts ; its habits are social, and its 

 disposition, though equally lively and active, considerably more peaceful than that of most other 

 members of its family. Both sexes utter a brisk chirping note, and the male at some seasons a faint 

 twittering song. These birds destroy the smallest kinds of insects in enormous quantities, and thus 

 render inestimable service to the farmer and gardener. 



" The nest of this species," says Mudie, " has always been admired as a model of neatness and 

 warmth. It is formed by patient and incessant labours of both birds for at least a month, if materials 

 are abundant, and five or six weeks when the supply is more scanty. It is placed in the fork of a 



