The Long-tailed Tit. 37 



I have since found that the position chosen by the pair 

 alluded to above, is that selected by the species generally, 

 showing an amount of discrimination that is really -wonderful 

 on the part of so small a bird, for it renders the nest almost 

 unassailable by bird or beast of prey. 



The Long- tailed Tit in its wild state subsists exclusively 

 on insects, flies, gnats, small caterpillars, spiders, and especially 

 green flies f aphides J: it is, consequently, no easy task to 

 keep it alive all the year round in the house: but even this 

 may be accomplished by means of small mealworms, black 

 beetles, and aphides reared for the purpose in a frame: and 

 as it is an exceedingly amusing little bird, fuU of the funniest 

 ■ways and tricks, it would be worth the while of amateurs 

 gifted with leisure and patience, to make the attempt: should 

 they do so and succeed, they will, I have no doubt, be weU 

 rewarded for their pains. 



These birds are very susceptible to cold, and should have 

 the room in which they are kept well warmed during the 

 winter. They should also be supplied with a cocoa-nut husk 

 and some nice soft feathers to make themselves a nest, for, like 

 the Wrens, they alway sleep in some warm nook or crevice, 

 out of reach of wind or rain, and a number of them usually con- 

 gregate together to keep out the frost by their mutual warmth. 



'Not having kept the Long-tailed Tit for any length of time, 

 nor heard of any one else who did, I cannot say how long 

 they would live in a cage, or to what ailments they are 

 subject. Intending keepers, however, must bear in mind that 

 these birds will only exist on an exclusively insect diet, of 

 which ants' eggs may form the largest part in winter, when 

 however it is not difficult to have gentles, which have been 

 kept during the summer in a cool cellar, or some similar 

 place. Pur-moths, too, are a readily procurable article of diet 

 for insectivorous birds, and a good stock of them may be 

 kept up by means of a couple of rabbit skins in a loosely 

 covered box. 



