with hair or felt; the usual complement of eggs is
four.”
I have never been in any of the Highland breeding-
localities of this bird at the nesting-season, but I may
here mention that a nest now in my possession, sent to
me from Scotland many years ago, tallies exactly with
Col. Irby’s description, being decidedly scanty in
material as compared with nests of other species of the
family, composed of fine green moss and lined with
hairs of the Squirrel. I found this Titmouse in considerable
abundance during the winter months in the
fir-woods of the Canton de Yaud, near Lausanne; it
certainly breeds there, but was comparatively scarce in
April and May, probably retiring as a rule to higher
ground for nesting purposes. I met with this species
on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in Aragon and
Navarre, and Col. Irby informs me that it is common
in the cork- and pine-woods in the neighbourhood of
Gibraltar and Algeciras.
The Crested Titmouse in habits resembles the other
members of the Tit family, being an active restless
bird, constantly on the move in search of food; the
ordinary call is a jarring monosyllable, followed by
three or four prolonged ringing notes. This bird, in
my experience, does not long support confinement in a
cage.