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a very great curiosity, never before having seen the bird or nest. Mr. Howard Saunders obseryed 
this Titmouse at Aranjuez in May, where Dresser also saw it in the same month ; and Mr. Saunders 
further states that it is found in Andalucia in winter. Major Irby writes to us that it is “‘ resident 
near Gibraltar, but very local. I never met with any, except in the cork-wood of Almo-raima, 
where it is common, and generally seen on the ash trees which grow in the sotos or swamps. In 
the warm months they seem never to quit these wet places; I have several times found the old 
nest built in the sarsaparilla creepers, which form regular net-work walls from the branches of 
the trees tothe earth. ‘The nest is usually about ten feet from the ground, and exactly resembles 
that of our British Long-tailed Titmouse. ‘They build very early; I have killed young birds able 
to fly well on the 14th of April, which would make the time they begin to lay about the 20th of 
February. The eyelids in the adult bird are edged with brick-red.” In Portugal a Long-tailed 
Titmouse is found, of which we have not been able to examine a specimen, but which we think 
will prove to be this species. Dr. KE. Rey writes to us that there are two specimens in the 
Lisbon Museum; he himself found it rare in Portugal, but observed a flock of about thirty 
individuals in an azalea thicket at Algabien on the 5th of May, 1869. The Rev. A. C. Smith 
also includes it in his list of the birds of Portugal. In Italy and Sicily it is tolerably numerous; 
and according to Dr. H. Giglioli common in the neighbourhood of Pisa. Some of the specimens 
sent to us by Count Salvadori come, however, very close to our British species. The species 
found in Greece, judging from the one example we have had an opportunity of examining, 
differs considerably from Acredula irbii, and we cannot refer it to that species until we have 
examined a large series. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley shot examples both in Macedonia and 
Bulgaria, which they considered to agree exactly with British specimens, not having the white 
head of the German and Scandinavian form. It must, however, be borne in mind that, when 
these gentlemen wrote the above, Acredula irbii had not been described. The Grecian bird, 
according to Lindermayer, comes down from the mountains in the north of Greece to the plains 
of Athens during severe winters. It breeds in the forests of Rumelia and Arkarnania, where Dr. 
Kriiper has procured the eggs. Lord Lilford also found a Long-tailed Titmouse common during 
the winter season in Epirus. In its habits, note, and mode of nidification this species does 
not differ in any way from our British Long-tailed Titmouse; and we therefore do not give our 
readers more concise details on these heads, but merely refer to what we have written in treating 
of Acredula rosea and Acredula caudata. Much has yet to be ascertained respecting this bird ; 
and we trust that ere long the South-European naturalists will collect sufficient data to enable 
them to throw more light on the habits and range of the present species. 
The specimen described and figured is in Dresser’s collection, and was obtained by Major 
Irby near Gibraltar in March 1871. 
In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens :— 
E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 
a, 3. Gibraltar, March 12th, 1871. 6,c. Gibraltar, February 1871. d,e. Gibraltar, May 2nd, 1871 (L. H. A.). 
£,9,5,h,1,j, 2, k,l, m, n, juv. Piedmont, May (Salvadori). 
