28 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the nest that the lining materials had disappeared, as with that of the 

 Willow-Warbler. She had, however, gone a step further, for the lichens, 

 dead grasses, mosses, and leaves which formed the walls and roof of 

 the structure were in the process of demolition. I was unable to see 

 whether the whole nest was removed, as I had to leave the locality that 

 evening. Would she, like the Willow- Warbler, economize and use the 

 materials again for another nest ? If so, what would she do with the 

 lining materials which she first removed, as it is obvious the lining of 

 a nest cannot be accomplished until the outer structure is complete, 

 and the materials suitable for the constructional part she removed last 

 of all?— E.F. M. Elms. 



Curious Nesting Habit of the Long-tailed Tit (Acredula caudata). 

 On June 12th, 1905, 1 found a Long-tailed Tit's nest in the centre of a 

 very dense hawthorn, the like of which I have never seen before. The 

 sight of it at once brought to my mind a few lines in an old book in my 

 possession on the subject of the Long-tailed Tit's nest. Thus : — " The 

 nest of the Bottle Tit is sometimes found, but not invariably, with two 

 holes or apertures, one of which is intended, according to Mr. Mudie, 

 for the bird's head to come through, and the other for its tail to come 



through Surely Mr. Mudie, when writing this, must have been 



misled by some recollection of Porson's famous description of his 

 Satanic Majesty : — 



" ' His coat was red and his breeches were blue, 



With a hole behind for his tail to come through.' " 



My nest, however, had neither one or two holes. It had no dome, and 

 the rim of the nest-cup was ragged, suggesting an untidy Chaffinch's 

 nest, for which I at first mistook it. But with an effort and many 

 lacerations I handled one of the young birds, in order to establish 

 their identity, and at the same time I was scolded very severely by one 

 of the parents. It would appear that as the young grew in bulk, and 

 their tails in length, the old birds had torn off the roof so as to give 

 the occupants more room. Indeed, it is somewhat of a mystery how — 

 say, ten — young Long-tailed Tits can emerge from their tiny nest with 

 as many long unruffled tails. — E. F. M. Elms. 



Double Brood of Great Tits. — Two broods of Great Tits (Pants 

 major) were reared in an apple-tree only a few yards from our house 

 this last season ; I saw both clutches of eggs — eight and seven respec- 

 tively — also the first young ones. — Stanley Lewis (Wells, Somerset). 



Late Martins' Nests. — The latest date that I have known for this 

 bird (Chetidon urbica) to have young in the nest is Oct. 11th, and this 



