BEARDED TIT,
they are remarkably hardy, ami w i n able to contend against severe weather with greater success than many
much larger and apparently slrungcr birds. The fact that they can at all times obtain a supply or food from
the seeds of the reed and the insects that are found adhering to their sleuis, as well as shelter in the thick
beds of rushes, probably accounts for their lively and active condition during the heaviest storms of snow, when
many other species appear numbed by cold and weak and helpless from want.
The nest is generally placed among the stems of the reeds on some boggy spot that is dillicult of access,
though now and then I have discovered that the birds have selected firmer ground ; and iti the neighbourhood
of Somertou Broad, near Wiuterton, 1 found a nest, containing eggs, that was built into the roots of a tussock
of rushes in n field of marsh-bay. The leaves and other portions of the m i l {I'hrtiymite* com mini it) are the
principal materials that arc used in the construction of their cradle by the Bearded Titmice; and it is wonderful
how neat a structure is produced by the means employed. The nests are not unfrequently situated but a few
inches above the level of the water, nnd consequently are extremely liable to he submerged if the tides rise
suddenly, either from a heavy fall of rain or a flow of salt water up the rivers. In such cases the birds at once
commence a second nest on the top of their first edifice. This habit is so well known to some of the eggseekers
of the district that in wet seasons they invariably scrape up the rubbish below the nests they find, in
hopes of discovering another set of eggs.
The first Plate represents the adult male and female with their brood just after leaving the nest. At this
early stage it is quite possible to distinguish the males from the females, us the beaks of the former show a
yellow lint, while those of the latter are not so brightly coloured.
The second Plate gives the miniature birds in the plumage of the first autumn.
P I E D F L Y C A T C H E R.
MVSCICAPA ATRICAPILLA.
THOUGH not a particularly scarce species, the Pied flycatcher is extremely local. .My own observations would
tend to show that it may be found in considerable numbers in Yorkshire and Cumberland. In Norfolk and
Sussex 1 have now nud then met with stragglers at the time or migration, hut have noticed no instance
of their nesting in any of the southern counties. In Scotland I have seen hut two specimens—a female
on the Bass rock about the middle of Hay 1S07, and a male in Strathspey a few days earlier the following
year. The cracks and crevices among the old ruins on the Bass would alford suitable breeding-quarters for
this species; but I could see no signs of a second bird, nor any evidence of a ucst. A bitter cold east wind
was blowing at the time; and, either lo escape its effects or to procure food, the bird appeared unwilling to
quit the shelter of the buildings, its favourite resort when disturbed being a dilapidated chimney-stack in a
roofless house among the fortifications. At times it made its appearance at the .summit, or dashed out from
the lower end or the holes in the crumbling stonework. The male that I observed in Strathspey seemed
also to he only a visitor to the district. I watched him for some hours frequent ing a patch of old timber near
the waterside, and concluded his ucst must have been near at hand. He was ahsenl, however, on the following
day; and no traces of him could be found on searching the wood on several subsequent occasions. Though
I have often passed a week or two in the spring in tin- locality daring the last ten years, I have never again
met with the species.
I n the neighbourhood of Penrith, in Cumberland, T have had many opportunities of studying the habits
of these birds. They appear to prefer situations more densely wooded than their relative the Spotted
Flycatcher. I oliservod two or three pairs among the line old timber in the large woods in the park at
Edenhall; aud they also frequented the plantations on the hanks of the Eden. On two separnle occasions in
this locality 1 have come across instances where the nests of this species have been destroyed by other small
birds. There was not the slightest doubt that Starlings were the culprits in one case; and I strongly suspect
they were also guilty in the second. But a number of the feathers of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker were
scattered around; so it is possible that these birds may have dragged out n portion of the nest after a
commencement had been made by the Starlings. The hole from which the nest was extracted was eventually
deserted by all parties; but the other was made use of by a pair of Starlings, who might have reared their
young in peace had they not been shot in order thai the Flycatchers might return lo their rightful quarters.
Insects of all descriptions, as well as flies, form, I behove, the usual diet of this species. I have more
than once known them captured in a Nightingale-!rap baited with a mealworm.
What course these hirds usually take at the time of their annual migration is, I imagine, influenced by
the winds and weather at the time of their flitting. I have seen a single specimen on the North Sea during
the autumn, but have never received wings from any of tho light-ships off the east coast. Twice I have met
with single birds, much fatigued by their journey, within a short distance of the sea-coast between Hastings
and Rye, On both occasions the date was within a few days of the first of May.