sitting in a row, all facing that luminary, and at other times perched dternately head and tail so regularly 
as to astonish those who for the first time witness it. 
A nest taken in the garden of Formosa, near Cliveden, on the 2nd of May, 1861, was of large size and of 
an oval form, with an entrance in the side near the top; it was composed of moss and cow-hair, outwardly 
adorned all over with small pieces of silvery lichen affixed by means of gossamer-like fibres and the empty 
cocoons of spiders’ eggs, and so plentifully lined with feathers of various kinds that, upon being counted, they 
proved to be about two thousand in number ; among them were observed those of the Peacock, Turkey, 
Partridge, Barn-door Fowl, Greenfinch, Wood-Pigeon, Duck, Turtle Dove, Thrush, Blackbird, Sec. It con- 
tained ten eggs, the total weight of which was 142 grains ; their colour white, thinly speckled with pale red. 
It Avould be supposed that in so warm a nest, with no other outlet than the tiny hole forming the entrance, 
a single bird would afford sufficient warmth during the period of hatching ; but that it is not so is evidenced 
by both male and female being often found in the same nest, side by side, with uplifted tails, and as happy 
as happy can be. How the twelve or thirteen young, when first hatched, are fed at the bottom of the nest, 
in utter darkness, I cannot Imagine ; yet they are ; and the old birds pass in and out a hundred times in 
a day, carrying one, two, or three caterpillars at each visit : hence Immense destruction is dealt out to sur- 
rounding insect-life. As the little ones increase in size, they climb to the entrance, and there remain, Avith 
gaping mouths, ready to receive the contributions brought by their parents. 
Tlie tAvo sexes are alike in colouring, and may be thus described ; — 
Plumage very soft and downy, particularly the feathers of the back, Avhere the barbs are loose and decom- 
posed. In this respect, and in their short round bills, they differ from all the other species of Tits. 
A broad line from the bill down the centre of the forehead to the occiput greyish white ; sides of the head 
and neck, the nape, and back black ; scapularies and rump tinged with rose-red ; Aving-coverts and primaries 
black ; secondaries black, narroAAdy edged AAath Avhite ; tertiaries broAvnish black, more broadly margined 
with white ; six middle tail-feathers black ; the remainder black-margined externally, and tipped AAuth Avhite, 
the white gradually decreasing as the feathers approach the central ones ; under surface and cheeks greyish 
white, tinged with rosy brown ; upper part of the eyelash red ; irides hazel ; bill black ; legs, feet, and 
claws brownish black. 
The young of the first year are of a much darker hue, have the forehead greyish broAvn, and a spot of Avhite 
on the croAvn, in lieu of the broad AAffiite stripe of the adult ; only a trace of the rose-tint on the scapularies ; 
the cheeks blackish brown ; and the under surface grey ; flanks and under tail-coA^erts vinous ; centre of the 
mandibles blackish brown, base and tip yelloAvish Avhite ; gonys yelloAvish Avhite on the outAA^ard side ; inside 
of the mouth and the tongue orange ; eye dark brown ; eyelash dull rose-pink ; legs pink ; toes darker. 
As the young advance in age, the fleshy gape disappears, the white crown becomes less conspicuous, and 
the tail prolonged to such an extent that, at a month old, it exceeds in length those of the parents ; and 
thus the tail of the young bird is longer than that of the old. This difference in the length of the tail, 
between youth and maturity, is obserA^able in other groups of birds. I may mention as a case in point, that I 
have found it to occur among some of the Trochilidse, several species of AA'hlch have the tail much longer 
during the first two years of their existence than iii after-life. 
The Plate represents the Long-tailed Tit, nest, and young of the natural size. 
