A contributor to Mr. Loudon's magazine saw a flock of eight or ten of these beautiful little creatures on the wing, in a large piece of reeds near Barking Creek, Essex. "They were just topping the reeds in their flight, and uttering in full chorus their sweetly musical note, which may be compared to the sound of very small cymbals; it is clear and ringing, though soft, and corresponds well with the delicacy and beauty of the form and colour of the birds. Several flocks were seen during the same morning. Their flight was short and low, only sufficient to clear the reeds, on the seedy tops of which, like most of their tribe, they alighted to feed, with the head or back downwards. If disturbed, they immediately descend by running, or, rather, by dropping to the bottom of the stem, where they creep and flit, perfectly concealed from view by the closeness of the covert and the resembling tints of their plumage."
The LONG-TAILED TITS (Orites) have a short, compact body; long, graduated tail, incised at the centre of its extremity; moderate-sized wings, in which the fourth and fifth quills exceed the rest in length; a very short, much arched, and pointed beak; and delicate feet. The sexes are alike in colour, and the young differ but slightly from their parents.
THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE.
The LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE (Orites caudatus) is black on the centre of the back and white on the head; the under side is reddish white, and the wings black, their hinder quills being broadly bordered with white; the tail is black, the three outer feathers spotted with white. The young are pale black on the side of the head, back, and wings, and of a whitish hue on the top of the head and on the under side of the body. The eye is dark brown in the adults, its unfeathered margin is light red, in the young bright yellow. The beak and feet are black. This species is six inches long and seven inches and three-quarters broad; the wing measures two inches and a half, and the tail three inches and a half.
The Long-tailed Tit inhabits the whole of Europe, from its most northern countries as far south as the Pyrenees and Alps, but is met with comparatively rarely in Greece and Spain. Like some of its congeners, it prefers taking up its abode on fir and pine trees, but, if these are not attainable, usually frequents orchards or well-cultivated woodland districts; its habits are social, and its disposition, though equally lively and active, considerably more peaceful than that of most other members of its family. Both sexes utter a brisk chirping note, and the male at some seasons a faint twittering song. These birds destroy the smallest kinds of insects in enormous quantities, and thus render inestimable service to the farmer and gardener.
"The nest of this species," says Mudie, "has always been admired as a model of neatness and warmth. It is formed by patient and incessant labours of both birds for at least a month, if materials are abundant, and five or six weeks when the supply is more scanty. It is placed in the fork of a small mossy tree, or among the thick twigs of a shrub, often a hawthorn, sometimes an evergreen, seldom more than three or four feet from the ground, and generally within cover of the sprays. Its form resembles that of an egg placed on the broader end; in appearance and texture it is very like a short decayed stump, that has been coated over with lichens, and is as firm in texture as it is neat and regular in form. The main fabric is closely made of moss, taken in very small pieces, and matted together with animal fibre, rarely with wool—as the bird does not range so far from the bushes as to be much of a wool-gatherer—but principally with what may be called tree or bark silk, that is, the silken cocoons that cover the chrysalides of insects and the eggs of spiders. These materials are firmly interwoven, but, though the term is sometimes applied to them, they are not felted. The two materials form a stronger fabric than could be made of either of them singly. The moss gives bulk and stiffness, and the silky filaments cohesion; and, as the birds are microscopic in their vision, they have perfect command over their short bills, and apply these materials by very small portions at a time. The fabric is beautifully put together, and when there are twigs in the way the nest is so closely worked upon them that it cannot be removed entire unless they are taken along with it. Externally it is coated with lichens and liverworts, so closely worked in that not a bit falls off; the inside is carefully lined with feathers, the quills of which are worked into the fabric. The whole nest, dome and all, is lined in this manner, so that when finished it is secure against rain and change of temperature. The entrance is by an aperture in the side, towards the top of the structure, and there are in some instances two apertures, the one nearly opposite to the other, the feathers around which are so worked into the fabric as, when not pushed aside by the birds, to form a sort of curtain. The interior is usually of sufficient size to contain both birds during the night, and, in the case of there being two apertures, they sit with the head of the male out at the one and the tail of the female out at the other, so that both apertures are partially closed, and the male is ready to start out as soon as there is light enough for hunting." The first brood is produced by the end of April, and usually consists of from nine to twelve or occasionally fifteen eggs; these are very small, with delicate white shells, more or less spotted with pale red; many females lay eggs that are quite white. The young are hatched thirteen days after their birth, and during all that time the brooding mother must suffer considerable annoyance from the unwieldy size of her tail, which is generally kept twisted round in the most inconvenient manner: nor are the young more at their ease; at first, despite their numbers, they manage tolerably well, but as they increase in size each struggles for the warmest place, and pushes at his neighbour until the nest gives way, or is rent in such a manner that the troublesome tail can be thrust out and freer space obtained.
THE CRESTED TITS (Lophophanes) are distinguished by comparatively slender beaks and the pointed upright crest that adorns the head. India and America have species similar to those we are about to describe.
THE CRESTED TIT.