Genus HGITALUS, Boye.

Gen. Cuar. Beak moderate, very acute, the upper mandible straight, middle toe free from

the base: hind claw large and strong. Taz truncate and moderate.

PENDULINE TIT.
/Kgitalus pendulinus, Boe.

Le Mésange rémiz.

We quite agree with M. Boje in the propriety of assigning this elegant little bird to a separate genus,
distinguished by several minute particulars from that of Parws. In habits, manners, and the localities it
frequents, it bears a great resemblance to the Bearded Tit (Calamophilus biarmicus, Leach); but in the form
of its beak and tail, and in its mode of nidification, it not only differs from it, but also from every other species
of the family. In this little bird, whether we regard its elegant hanging nest or its chaste plumage and
sprightly form, there is much to attract attention : it is not, however, among the natives of our island, but
must be sought for in the southern and eastern provinces of Europe. It is tolerably abundant in Italy and the
South of France, and is also found in some parts of Russia, Poland, and Hungary, everywhere frequenting
the borders of rivers and inland sheets of fresh water, where willows, reeds, and luxuriant herbage afford it
shelter. Its food is said to consist, like that of the Bearded Tit, not only of seeds, but also of aquatic insects,
and the animals inhabiting small freshwater shells.

Proverbial as are the Tits for the beauty and skilful structure of their nests, none are more remarkable and
curious than that of the present species : it is constructed of the soft down of the willow or poplar; and this
substance, which closely resembles cotton wool, is interwoven together with admirable ingenuity, so as to form
a flask-shaped nest, with a lateral opening into the internal chamber. It is suspended at the extremity of a
drooping branch of a willow or any similar tree overhanging the water. The eggs are six in number, of a
pure white, marked with a few red blotches.

The sexes in the adult state offer but little difference in the colour of their plumage ; the markings of the
female, particularly the black band across the face, are however more obscure, and the young, besides being
of a lighter colour, want the black mark entirely.

The plumage of the adult male is as follows : a black band extends across the forehead, encircles the eyes,
and spreads over the ear-coverts ; top of the head light grey; throat lighter ; the upper surface chestnut
brown, more intense on the middle of the back, fading off to buff; breast chestnut, becoming lighter as it
spreads over the abdomen ; wings and tail brownish black, each feather having a lighter margin.

Our Plate represents a pair of these birds, and their nest, of the natural size.

 

SN

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