. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. . medin a decayed tree; it is usually composed of moss, hair, andfeathers. The Blue Tit {F. cceruieus) occasionally builds its nest invery insecure places. Mr. Duncan, one of Mr. McGillivrays corres-pondents, in a MS. note now before us, says, *In the year 1836 Idiscovered the nest of a pair of Blue Tits in the shaft of a pump well,which was drenched and partly carried away every time water was TITMICE. 501 drawn; still they persevered in building. Gladly would I
. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. . medin a decayed tree; it is usually composed of moss, hair, andfeathers. The Blue Tit {F. cceruieus) occasionally builds its nest invery insecure places. Mr. Duncan, one of Mr. McGillivrays corres-pondents, in a MS. note now before us, says, *In the year 1836 Idiscovered the nest of a pair of Blue Tits in the shaft of a pump well,which was drenched and partly carried away every time water was TITMICE. 501 drawn; still they persevered in building. Gladly would I have leftthem there, but they kept the water in a continually muddy state,and their removal became absolutely necessary. The Coal Tit {) chooses the crevice of a wall or decayed tree. So dees theMarsh Tit {P. palustris). The Crested Tit (P. cristatus, Fig. 218) is aretiring little bird, provided with plumage both brilliant and beauti-fully blended. They are rarely seen except in the north ofEngland, but several flocks are recorded as appearing in are said to breed annually in plantations near Glasgow, in the. rhe Crested lit. forest of Glenmore ; and near the Spey two were killed in years later, at Whitefield, near Wigton, Cumberland, we foundthem quite abundant in a plantation bordering a small rivulet. Inthe north of Ireland, in autumn, they are not uncommon whereverplantations of larch trees are to be found. Their nests, according toTemminck, occur in holes of trees—the oak being preferred—in rocks,or in a deserted crows or squirrels nest. The nest of the Long-tailed Tit {Parus caudatus) is, perhaps, themost skilful specimen of construction. It is oval in form, and hastwo openings, one for entrance, the other for exit, an arrangementwhich the long tail of the bird renders necessary. This singular bird—the most diminutive of our birds except the Kinglets—differs from 502 REPTILES AND BIRDS. the Tits in its softer and more bulky plumage a
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