378 PARID A. 
trees it resembles other Tits, being active and _ lively, 
almost incessantly in motion, hopping or flitting from 
branch to branch in search of food; but is more select in 
its choice than other Tits appear to be, and confines itself 
almost, if not entirely, to insects and their larve. The 
nest of this species is another example of ingenious con- 
struction, combining beauty of appearance with security 
and warmth. In shape it is nearly oval, with one small 
hole in the upper part of the side by which the bird enters. 
I have never seen more than one hole. The outside of 
this nest sparkles with silver-coloured lichens adhering to 
a firm texture of moss and wool, the inside profusely lined 
with soft feathers. The nest is generally placed in the 
middle of a thick bush, and so firmly fixed, that it is 
mostly found necessary to cut out the portion of the bush 
containing it, if desirous of preserving the natural appear- 
ance and form of the nest. In this species, the female is 
known to be the nest maker, and to have been occupied 
from a fortnight to three weeks in completing her habita- 
tion. In this she deposits from ten to twelve eggs; but 
a larger number are occasionally found: they are small 
and white, with a few pale red specks, frequently quite 
plain, measuring seven lines in length, and five lines in 
breadth. The young family of the year keep company 
with the parent birds during their first autumn and winter, 
and generally crowd close together on the same branch at 
roosting time, looking, when thus huddled up, like a shape- 
less lump of feathers only. These birds have several notes, 
on the sound of which they assemble and keep together ; 
one of these call-notes is soft and scarcely audible; a second 
is a louder chirp or twitter, and a third is of a hoarser kind. 
The Long-tailed Tit is a common bird in the southern 
and western counties of England from Sussex to Corn- 
