BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 43 
in that district, a far south remnant of Crested Tits survived ; 
but I prefer not to accept that theory unproved, or in the 
absence of stronger proofs. ... I wish to add here that 
there is no specimen of this bird mentioned in the printed 
catalogue of the late Sir William Jardine's collection, nor 
are there any in the sale catalogue (Puttick and Simpson, 
June 17, 1886) ; nor do I remember seeing any in Sir 
William's collection, where I certainly looked for and 
expected to find one or more."* 
Neither Mr. R. Service nor myself know anything more 
of this alleged occurrence of the Crested Tit near Dumfries. 
The species is confined to the pine-forests of the central 
Highlands of Scotland, and it must be remembered that a 
local name of the Golden-crested Wren is the " Crested 
Tit."] 
THE WREN. Troglodytes parvulus, K. L. Koch. 
Local names — Kitty; Kitty- Wren; Kitty-Raan; Cutty; 
Cutty- Wren ; Jenny- Wren. 
" Ah ! There's Miss Kitty Wren, with her cocked tail, 
Cocked like a cooper's thumb. Miss Kitty goes 
In 'neath the bank, and then comes out again 
By some queer hole. Thus all day long she plies 
Her quest from hedge to bank, scarce ever seen 
Flying above your head in open air. 
Unsmitten by the heat where now she is. 
She strikes into her song — Miss Kitty's song ! 
(We never think of male in Kitty's case. ) 
Short is the song, not varied, yet not dull. 
So liquid clear of pipe she opens it. 
And, with increasing vigour to the end. 
Goes through it quite : Thus all the year she sings. 
Except in frost, the spunkyf httle bird ! " 
Thomas Aird. — " A Summer Day.'' 
A common resident throughout the county. 
Mrs. Pollock tells me that at Dalswinton in the spring of 
1866, the eggs of a Willow- War bier, which had been 
* Fauna of Tay, 1906, pp. 92-94. ♦ 
t Plucky. 
