e nest in a certain
fixed manner. She will perch, time after time, on one particular
branch near the nest, and thence fly to her open-mouthed brood. When
both parents bring food to the nest, each approaches in a way peculiar
to itself; the hen will perhaps always come in from the left and the
cock from the right.

The tits in question worked spasmodically at the nest throughout the
hours of daylight. For ten minutes or so they would bring in piece
after piece of moss at a great pace and then indulge in a little
relaxation. All work and no play makes a tit a dull bird.

I had to leave the hotel late on the second day, so was not able to
follow up the fortunes of the two little birds. I have, however, to
thank them for affording me some amusement and giving me pleasant
recollections of the place. It was good to lounge in a long chair,
drink in the cool air, and watch the little birds at work. I shall
soon forget the tumble-down appearance of the house, its seedy
furniture, its coarse durries, and its hard beds, but shall long
remember the great snow-capped peaks in the distance, the green
moss-clad trees near about, the birds that sang in these, the sunbeams
that played among the leaves, and, above all, the two little tits
that worked so industriously at their nest.

_THE PEKIN-ROBIN_

This is not a robin, nor does it seem to be nearly related to the
familiar redbreast; Pekin- or China-robin is merely the name the
dealers give it, because a great many specimens are imported from
China. Its classical name is _Liothrix lutea_. Oates calls it the
red-billed liothrix. It is a bird about the size of a sparrow. The
prevailing hue of the upper plumage is olive green, but the forehead
is yellow. There is also a yellow ring round the eye, and the lower
parts are of varying shades of this colour. Some of the wing feathers
are edged with yellow and some with crimson, so that the wings, when
closed, look as though lines of these colours are pencilled upon them.
Oates, I notice, states that the hen has no red in the wing, but this
does not seem to be the case in all examples. In the Pekin-robins
that hail from China the chief difference between the sexes is that
the plumage of the hen is a little duller than that of the cock. The
bill is bright red. It is thus evident that the _liothrix_ is a
handsome bird, its beauty being of the quiet type which bears close
inspection. But the very great charm of this sprightly little c