PASSERlNiE. 293 



themselves therefrom in all sorts of positions, rending apart the 

 seeds on which they feed, devouring insects wherever they see them, 

 and not sparing even small birds when they happen to find them sick, 

 and are able to put an end to them. They lay up stores of seeds, 

 build in the holes of old trees, and lay more eggs than any of the 

 Passerinae. There are six species of Parus, properly so called, in 

 France. 



P. major, L. ; La Charhonniere; Enl. 3, 1; Naum. 94, 1. (The 

 Great Titmouse.) An olive colour above; yellow beneathj the 

 head, as well as a longitudinal band on ,the breast, black; a 

 white triangle on each cheek. Very common in gardens, &c. 



P. ater, h.; La petite charhonniere ; Frisch, I, pi. xiii, 2; 

 Naum. 94, 2. Smaller than the preceding; an ash colour in 

 place of the olive, and whitish instead of the yellow. Prefers 

 the great pine forests. 



P. palustris, L.; La Nonnette; Enl. 3, 3; Naum. 94, 4. (The 

 Marsh Titmouse.) Ash coloured above; whitish beneath; a 

 black calotte. 



P. cseruleus, L.; La M. a tete bleue; Enl. 3, 2j Naum. 95, 1, 

 2. (The Blue-Headed Titmouse.) Olive above; yellowish be- 

 neath; top of the head a fine blue; the cheek white, surrounded 

 with black; forehead white. A pretty little bird, very common 

 in the underwood. 



P. cristatus, L.; Le M. huppe, Enl. 502, 2. (The Crested 

 Titmouse.) Brownish above; whitish beneath; throat and cir- 

 cumference of the cheek, black; a little tuft mottled with black 

 and white. 



P. caudatus, L.; Le M. a longue queue, Enl. 502, 3; Naum. 

 95, 4, 5, 6. (The Long-tailed Titmouse.) Black above; wing- 

 coverts, brown; upper part of the head and all beneath, white; 

 tail longer than the body. It builds its nest on the limbs of 

 small trees, and roofs it over.(l) The 



(1) Several species of the European Titmouse are also represented in the work 

 of M. Roux, pi. cxvii cxsiv. Add, Parus bicolor (Catesb. I, 57) ; P. cyanus 

 (Nov. Coram. Petrop., xiv, pi. xiii, fig. 1, and 23, fig. 2) and P. sselbyensis (Sparm. 

 M. Carls., pi. xxv) which appear to Bechstein to be the two sexes of one same spe- 

 cies. Vieill- Gal. 68; Naum. 95, 6 ; P. atricapillus (Briss. ili, pi. xxix, fig. 1) ; 

 P. sibiricus, (Enl. 708, fig. 3) and P. palustris, B. (Enl. 502, 1) which are three 

 varieties, or very closely allied species ; P. atriceps, Horsf. ; Col. 287, 2. 



The Parus malabaricus (Sonner. Voy. II, pi. ex, 1) and the coccineus (Sparm. 

 Mus. Carls., 48, 49), P. furcatus. Col. 287, 1, are Saxicolac or Flycatchers, neigh- 

 bours to the Oranor, Vaill., the Mot. ruticilla, L., and the Turdus spedosus. Lath. 

 It may be observed, that in every instance where the characters of a bird are not 

 well defined, it has been bandied about from one genus to another. 



