258 



• BIRDS. 



dead stock, which Harvie-Brown also very hastily sketched ; and 

 in the course of the afternoon, Lewis Dunbar, who was with us, 

 also found another old nesting tree, which had a northern exposure, 

 on the same hill. We blew the eggs, and were delighted to find 

 them perfectly fresh (May 11th, 1892). Five eggs appear to be 

 a very usual complement or " clutch." During the same walk 

 we found several old dead pines pierced by woodpeckers. The 

 nest was in a powdery, decayed, pine stump, barkless and 

 bleached. The nesting site faced the east, but the entrance of 

 the hole the south. Upon a basis of powdery dust, the nest was 

 composed of green dry moss, with a superstratum of red deer's 

 hair, many of which animals we have seen during the day. The 

 lining was formed of blue hare's fur. The old nest had also 

 feathers of the grouse in the lining, and tufts of cotton-grass in 

 the structure. Dunbar skinned the two birds at night. The 

 heads were large, and the skin had to be slit at the occiput. 

 Irides, light reddish hazel.' 



Another nest containing young and one addled egg was found 

 a few days later, in a single upright stock, not far from Loch 

 Morlich, about 4J feet from the ground — a very usual elevation. 

 The stock was not more than 6 feet high and 9 inches thick, 

 and had no lateral branches, and, like the last, was bleached and 

 barked. 



The illustrations given represent some of the sites chosen by 

 the Crested Tit for purposes of nidification. 



The Crested Tit often breeds much earlier than the dates of the 

 instances given above, and in 1894 Hinxman found a nest with 

 young nearly able to fly on May 9 th ; and they often nest in the 

 wildest parts of the forests, on the lower slopes of the mountains. 



We have little fear of the Crested Tit becoming rare through 

 man's direct agency, as the area they cover is an extensive one, 

 and to find the nests requires considerable search. 



The Eev. W. Forsyth, D.D., says Crested Tits are increasing 

 about Abernethy now (1892). A pair was seen in a clump of trees 

 at Broomhill station last year (1891). In 1892, Lewis Dunbar, 

 who accompanied Harvie-Brown during the latter's visit to that 

 district of our area, pointed out innumerable localities which were 

 occupied by Crested Tits between the years 1847 and 1853, when 

 he was a resident in Grantown ; and letters from William Dunbar 



