sitting in a row, all facing that luminary, and at other times perched alternately head and tail so regularly
as to astonish those who for the first time witness it.
A nest taken in the garden o f 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 to p ; it was composed o f moss and cow-hair, outwardly
adorned all over with small pieces of silvery lichen affixed by means o f gossamer-like fibres and the empty
cocoons o f 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 Fotyl, Greenfinch, Wood-Pigeon, Duck, Turtle Dove, Thrush, Blackbird, &c. It contained
ten eggs, the total weight of which was 142 grain s; their colour white, thinly speckled with pale red.
It would 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 a t the bottom o f the nest,
in utter darkness, I cannot imagine; yet they a r e ; and the old birds pass in and out a hundred times in
a day, carrying one, two, o r three caterpillars at each v isit: hence immense destruction is dealt out to surrounding
insect-life. As the little ones increase in size, they climb to the entrance, and there remain, with
gaping mouths, ready to receive the contributions brought by their parents.
The two sexes are alike in colouring, and may be thus described:—
Plumage very soft and downy, particularly the feathers of the back, where the barbs are loose and decomposed.
In this respect, and in their short round bills, they differ from all the other species o f Tits.
A broad line from the bill down the centre o f the forehead to the occiput greyish white; sides o f the head
and neck, the nape, and back black ; scapularies and rump tinged with rose-red; wing-coverts and primaries
black; secondaries black, narrowly edged with wh ite ; tertiaries brownish black, more broadly margined
with white; six middle tail-feathers black; the remainder black-margined externally, and tipped with white,
the white gradually decreasing as the feathers approach the central one s; under surface and cheeks greyish
white, tinged with rosy brown; upper part o f the eyelash r e d ; irides hazel; bill b lack ; legs, feet, and
claws brownish black.
The young of the first year are o f a much darker hue, have the forehead greyish brown, and a spot o f white
on the crown, in lieu of the broad white stripe o f the a d u lt; only a trace o f the rose-tint on the scapularies;
the cheeks blackish brown; and the under surface g rey ; flanks and under tail-coverts vinous ; centre o f the
mandibles blackish brown, base and tip yellowish white ; gonys yellowish white on the outward side ; inside
o f the mouth and the tongue o ran g e ; 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, a t a month old, it exceeds in length those o f the p a ren ts; and
thus the tail of the young bird is longer than that o f the old. This difference in the length o f the tail,
between youth and maturity, is observable in other groups o f birds. I may mention as a case in point, that I
have found it to occur among some o f the Trochilidae, several species of which have the tail much longer
during the first two years o f their existence than in after-life.
The Plate represents the Long-tailed Tit, nest, and young of the natural size.