24 
A Fascinating Bird. 
As an example of this I give my experience with the 
English variety, I was given four pairs, the day that they 
were caught, of which three pairs are still living. Ten daj-s 
after they were caught, four out of the six were feeding from 
my hand through the bars of the cage and so little fear have 
they that when one was ill I caught it, and tried to open 
its mouth to feed it, failed, and holding the mealworm in my 
hand while preparing for a second attempt I felt a tug, and 
found the mealworm disappearing down the Tit's throat, and 
two days after capture. 
How many people want a pair of birds that are tiny, 
safe to keep with Waxbills, etc., and which are at the same 
time perfectly tame to such as these my advice is buy a pair 
of Long-tailed Tits, and the method of procedure I should 
advise is as follows: 
Buy la pair now and keep them in a medium sized cage 
through the winter, every now and then give them a meal- 
worm broken in half in your fingers, or if you prefer it in 
a pail of tweezers, in a few days when you approach you will 
find them calling to' you for food, a fSew days more and you can 
put your hand inside the cage and soon will find that they will 
take them, without the bars between you, from that to com- 
plete confidence in you is but a step. 
When the spring comes round turn them into your 
aviary; you will find that you are associated in their minds 
with food and they will soon be down on your hand for food, 
and if for the first few days they will not do that they will 
come to the nearest perch and take it from your hand there. 
A word of warning, the Tits will see you before you 
see them, and fly to you, and if you do not enteiv the aviary 
with care, they will be down and out, but this is not really 
serious as they will come for a mealworm held out in one 
hand and with the other you can easily catch them, two minutes 
is about the time it took me. 
When you have got and found out at last the one bird 
you have always wanted, do not forget that it was the F.B.O. 
which brought it to your notice. Pay this debt of gratitude 
by encouraging new members; remember that the more mem- 
bers there are the more coloured plates can we aft'ord, and 
that the more coloured plates the more members are we likely 
