14 PENDULINE TIT. 



obtained it in the neighbourhood of Dieppe. To these 

 localities Naumann adds, Dalmatia, Scandinavia, and 

 Siberia; while Count Miihle tells us that it is not rarely- 

 found in the swamps of Rumelia and the Morea. 



The Penduline Tit is not only one of the most prettily 

 coloured among the family, but it is altogether a most in- 

 teresting and remarkable bird. Its nest is a very 

 elaborate structure; and all ornithologists from the time 

 of Aldrovandi, two hundred and seventy years ago, have 

 been eloquent and minute in their descriptions of this 

 singular domicile, and of its ingenious and skilful ar- 

 chitects. 



A good deal of difference is, however, to be found 

 among their descriptions, and I have therefore thought 

 better to give at length the history of the process, as 

 well as some of the most interesting points in the bird's 

 economy, from two recent observers, one of whom, it 

 will be perceived, accounts for the discrepancy in the 

 descriptions of former naturalists. 



In the "Revue et Magasin de Zoologie," for 1859, 

 No. 3, we have the following account by M. Moquin- 

 Tandon : — 



"The Remitz or Penduline, called by various authors 

 Mesange de Pologne or de Narbonne, and by others 

 Mesange des saules or des marais, is without doubt one 

 of the most remarkable of European birds. This bird 

 displays a wonderful industry in the construction of its 

 nest; no other species in France or Europe forms anything 

 so elaborate and curious. 



The nest of the Eemitz is not cup-shaped like that 

 of most birds, but is closed at the top more or less 

 ovoid, and in the form of a bag or purse; on the side 

 near the top is a small round entrance, which is pro- 

 longed into a conico-cylindrical passage, either placed 



