THE TITS. 
91 
retired bird, inhabiting gloomy evergreen forests in Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and 
some parts of France. The feathers of the crown are long, and capable of being 
raised at the will of the bird. They are black, edged with white; the throat, 
collar, and a streak across the temples are black; the upper parts are reddish- 
brown, and the under ones white, faintly tinged with red. “ It is with us a 
permanent resident,” says Professor Newton, “ in a few of the oldest forests of 
Scotland, which have not lost their natural growth of firs and oaks, and as such 
is restricted to certain valleys in the counties of Ross, Inverness, Perth, Elgin, 
Banff, and perhaps Aberdeen.” No lover of our native birds will care to characterise 
its haunts more closely for fear of its extermination, just as fern-lovers are careful 
not to divulge the localities where the rarer ferns grow. Nests have been found 
of late years, built of moss and wool, felted with a little fur of the mountain 
hare. These birds are said to haunt in family parties the uppermost boughs of 
firs, though they frequently descend to the ground in quest of seeds which may 
have dropped from the fir-cones. Its eggs do not seem to exceed five in number 
in Scotland, though eight or ten are said to be laid on the Continent. It has 
been known to occupy the deserted nests of the squirrel and crow, but usually 
builds in the old stems of firs. A bird of great beauty which resembles it is 
the Crested Tit of the Himalayas (P. xanthogenys). It bears a full crest of black 
feathers, its ear-coverts are black, and a broad black line extends down its throat 
between the legs. The rest of the plumage is yellow, black, and grey. 
The last British member of the family is in some respects the most interesting. 
The Long-tailed Tit {Purus caudatus) is not often seen near man or his habita¬ 
tions. It must be sought in the fir-woods, and there it is trustful and confiding, 
and will suffer an observer to draw near without flying off. The Long-tailed Tit 
is connected in most bird-lovers’ minds with late autumn and winter, when it may 
be observed in small family parties holding on to the firs in every position, and 
gently flitting from one tree to the next through the wood. The parents and brood 
thus keep together until the following spring. The whole length of the bird is 
53 inches. The prevailing colours are black and white, but the sides of the back 
and scapulars are tinged with rose-red ; the under parts are reddish-white, the 
tail very long, and the beak very short. It is common throughout Great Britain, 
where her woods invite it for food and shelter. Besides its family companionship 
this bird is remarkable for its nest, which is the most beautifully constructed 
inwardly and outwardly of all our bird architecture. In shape it is nearly oval, 
with a small hole in the upper half; hence the bird is known provincially as 
