Habits of the Bottlelit. 199 



ductions of Hyeres and its neighbourhood, as far as its botany 

 is concerned ; and highly delighted should I indeed be, if my 

 description were able to tempt any English naturalist to 

 explore these regions: a visit to the lies d'Hyeres, in the 

 months of April and May, would amply reward any person 

 interested in the science of natural history. 



Impasse des Vignes, 2. Rue des Posies, Parts, Nov. 21. 1836. 



Art. VII. On the Habits and Peculiarities of the common Bottletit, 

 or Mufflin (Mecistura vagans Leach, P&rus caudatus of Lin- 

 nceus !). By Edward Blyth, Esq. 



Having been several times interrogated why I styled this 

 curious little bird the rose mufflin (p. 394.), and upon what 

 grounds I ventured to consider it distinct from Parus, it may 

 be as well to point out a few of its discrepancies with the tit 

 genus, in order to show that there are sufficient grounds for 

 its alienation. 



That it is nearly allied by direct affinity to the Pari, I am 

 fully disposed to admit, notwithstanding the many particulars 

 in which it differs from them ; and I am, furthermore, aware 

 of the existence of a newly discovered species in the Himma- 

 layas, intermediate in all its characters. Still I consider that 

 Dr. Leach was quite warranted in instituting his genus Me- 

 cistura, for reasons that will appear in the sequel. 



Were I to be called upon to give the general characters of 

 the tits (Parus), I should say that they were small omnivo- 

 rous birds, miniatures, in a variety of respects, of the jays and 

 allied genera ; that they feed on insects, grain, fruit, and es- 

 pecially on oleaginous seeds ; which latter they always hold 

 firm to their perch by means of both feet, while they pierce a 

 small hole in the husk by quickly repeated hard knocks of the 

 bill, through which they extract the kernel : that they likewise 

 resemble the jays, and other corvine genera, in concealing 

 what food they cannot eat ; a curious particular, which I have 

 had many opportunities of observing: that they invariably 

 nidificate in holes, and, for the most part, retire to roost in 

 such situations ; that they are social among themselves, except 

 at the breeding season, but do not remain together in families ; 

 that their manners are familiar, and easy of observation ; and 

 that, more particularly in winter, they much affect the vicinity 

 of human habitations, frequenting dust-bins, and such like 

 places, where they glean their subsistence partly from the refuse 

 of our abundance. The whole of these characters would more 

 or less apply to all the genuine Pari. 



