Birds of the Indian Hills 



nishing, and this does not occupy long if the 

 occupiers have Spartan tastes. The tits in 

 question were luxuriously inclined, if we may 

 judge by the amount of moss that they carried 

 into that hole. By the time it was finished it 

 must have been considerably softer than the 

 bed that was provided for my accommodation ! 



Moss in plenty was to be had for the taking ; 

 the trunks and larger branches of the trees 

 which surrounded the "hotel" were covered 

 with soft green moss. The tits experienced no 

 difficulty in ripping this ofF with the beak. 



The entrance to the nest hole faced down- 

 wards and was guarded on one side by the wall 

 of the house, and on the other by a beam, so 

 that it was not altogether easy of access even 

 to a bird. Consequently a good deal of the 

 moss gathered by the tits did not reach its 

 destination ; they let it fall while they were 

 negotiating the entrance. 



When a piece of moss dropped from the 

 bird's beak, no attempt was made to retrieve it, 

 although it only fell some lo feet on to the 

 floor of the verandah. In this respect all birds 

 behave alike. They never attempt to reclaim 

 that which they have let fall. A bird will 



spend the greater part of half an hour in 



130 



