114 



THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



BRITISH BIRDS, 

 THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



By S. L. Mosley. 

 55. LONG-TAILED TIT. 

 Parus caudatus, Linn. 

 Y Benloyn gnyffonhir (Anct. Brit.) 



Candatus— the tail; Cauda (Lat.)=tail. 

 This name was given by Linnaeus to the 

 ■white-headed Scandinavian form of this 

 bird; Sharp and Dresser have described 

 our bird as distinct under the specific name 

 of Rosea (Blyth). 



Size. — Length 5 £ in, to over 6 in.; ex- 

 panse about 6J in. 



Plumage. — Male, bill black; eyes 

 brown. Forehead and crown greyish white, 

 a black line running just over the eye. 

 Cheeks greyish white. Back of head and 

 back black, the feathers having broad rosy 

 pink edges near the wings and on the lower 

 part. Wings dark brown, nearly black, the 

 secondaries margined with grey. Tail very 

 long and rounded at the end ; black, except 

 the three outer feathers which are white on 

 the outer web and at the tip, the outer 

 feathers having the most white. Throat and 

 under parts white, shading off to rosy at the 

 vent. Legs black. The whole plumage is 

 very soft and downy. 



The Female resembles the male. 



Youug birds are less bright in colour, the 

 back more brown, and the light parts about 

 the head marked with brown. 



Varieties. — The form found in the north 

 of Europe, the true P. caudatus of Linnaeus, 

 and ours are probably only geographical 

 races of the same species. It differs from 

 ours in having the head entirely white with- 

 out the dark line over the eye. The back 

 and secondaries are also rather lighter. A 

 specimen of this form was picked up dead 

 at Tynemouth, in November, 1852, and pre- 

 sented to Mr. Hancock's collection (Birds 



Northumberland and Durham), and another 

 is in the Newcastle Museum. This form is 

 figured upon the plate (fig. 2.) The only 

 variety I am acquainted with of this species 

 is in the rich collection belonging to Mr. J. 

 Whitaker, F.Z.S., of Rainworth Lodge, 

 Notts. This specimen is a dun colour, or 

 pale grey, nearly white on the wings and 

 tail, and a few markings of the normal 

 colour on the secondaries. It was killed 

 near Horsham, in Sussex. 



Note.— The note of this species is very 

 feeble, resembling the syllables " tzee, tee, 

 tee," " zee, tee," or " chee." It is rather a 

 noisy bird, or at least a flock of them seem 

 to do their best to make themselves heard, 

 both when searching for insects and when 

 on the wing. 



Flight.-— These birds work in companies, 

 and as they skirt a wood and fly from tree 

 to tree their small size and long tail give 

 them a somewhat peculiar appearance. 

 Their flight is rather undulatng and never 

 of long duration, chiefly from one tree to 

 the next. 



Migration. — This species is resident 

 in this country throughout the year. In 

 winter they associate in small companies, 

 probably one or . more families, old and 

 young, but they separate again before 

 breeding-time. These companies are always 

 accompanied by Creepers, other Tits, or 

 Crested Wrens. 



Food. — Small insects of all kinds form 

 their staple food. 



In Confinement. — I am not aware that 

 this species has been kept in captivity. 



Habitat. — This is a common species 

 in most wooded districts, especially along 

 hedge-row timber and fir plantations 

 throughout England and Wales; common 

 also in Scotland, except the most northern 

 parts. It is also to be met with in Ireland, 

 but in decreased numbers. 



