BRITISH BIRDS 



on the hillsides, and in the faces of the great cliffs." Three nests were shown him. 

 " One of these was placed in a hole worked in a mass of dead thrift on the face of a 

 cliff; the other two were placed between the stones forming the inner walls of 

 cleits, and were in excellent condition. 



" All these nests were composed of the blades and stems of grasses, small tufts 

 of grass, a little moss and dead bracken, and were lined entirely with white feathers 

 of a gull, or with a mixture of moss and white feathers." The bird shown in 

 the plate was painted from a specimen in the Royal Scottish Museum. 



Another form of Wren is found in the Shetlands, distinguished from our 

 common species by its larger and heavier bill and richer brown colouring. 



THE IRISH COAL-TITMOUSE. 



Parus hibemicus, Ogilvie-Grant. 



Plate 8oa. 



This bird, which is a sub-species of our well-known British Coal-Tit, is confined 

 to Ireland, and the adults may be distinguished by having the white cheek patches 

 and occipital spot suffused with sulphur-yellow and also by the golden russet tint 

 on the sides of the breast and flanks. Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, writing in the Ibis for 

 July 191 1, says, "It is well known that the young of Parus britannicus and its 

 near allies differ from the adult birds in having the sides of the head, as well as the 

 breast and belly, washed with yellow. The persistency of this juvenile character in 

 the adult of P. hibemicus seems to indicate that it is of very ancient origin, much 

 more so than its British representative: it seems to represent a pre-Glacial type 

 which has survived in the western and southern parts of Ireland." 



According to the same authority the typical British Coal-Titmouse is also found 

 in parts of Ireland. 



I have already referred to the Irish race of this Titmouse in vol. i. p. 66. 



