Genus AAGITHALUS. 
Parus apud Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 342 (1766). 
Aigithalus, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 556. 
Pendulinus apud C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828. 
THE Penduline Titmice, though allied to the true Titmice, differ so far both in form and habits 
as to constitute a very distinct genus. Only two species occur in the Western Palearctic 
Region; and the geographical range of these is given under the separate articles on them. 
These Titmice frequent damp marshy localities, and in general habits are less active and lively 
than the true Titmice; their note is also said to resemble that of the Wood-Wren, and not 
that of the other Titmice. ‘They feed on insects and small seeds, and are peculiar in their mode 
of nidification ; for they build a most artistically constructed poke-shaped nest of marsh-cotton or 
some other vegetable substance, very large for the size of the bird, and attached to the pendent 
branches of a.tree or bush. The eggs differ from those of the other Titmice in being rather 
elongated in shape and pure white in colour. 
Aigithalus pendulinus, the type of the genus, has the beak rather short, straight, very 
pointed and sharp at the tip; nostrils basal, concealed by reversed bristly feathers; gape 
without any bristles; wings moderate, the first quill very short, the second, third, and fourth 
nearly equal, the third being the longest ; tail rather long, slightly emarginate ; tarsus moderate, 
covered in front with four plates and three inferior scutelle; feet moderate; claws stout, strong, 
curved, laterally grooved; plumage less lax than in the other Titmice. 
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