8o WHITE-HEADED LONG-TAILED TIT. 



great Swedish naturalist was, of course, describing 

 the birds of his own country, and hence it is the 

 white-headed form which must be called by the 

 Linnean name, as that is the only one which 

 occurs in Sweden. The earliest name for our 

 British bird seems to be that of 0. vagans of 

 Leech, given to it by him in a catalogue of 

 Mammals and Birds in the British Museum, but 

 evidently without any idea that the British species 

 was distinct. 



On account of its long and graduated tail the 

 Long-tailed Tits are separated from the true Tits 

 (Pams), and bear the name of ^githdus. They 

 also differ in their mode of nidification, for, 

 whereas the Blue Tit and its alhes make their 

 nest in a sheltered situation, such as a hole in 

 a wall or tree, the Long-tailed Tit builds an 

 exposed nest, which trusts for its concealment 

 chiefly by the wonderful way in which hchens 

 are attached by the birds to the outside of it, 

 so that it resembles moss-covered bark. As is 

 the case with nearly all birds which lay white 

 eggs, the present species carefully conceals them 

 from view, by building a domed nest of moss, 

 and lined with feathers ; one of the prettiest, and 



