BRITISH BIRDS. \^ 



the bird shops and at the dealers are imported from the 

 Continent, and chiefly from Holland. The nest is built 

 among reeds, and the eggs, four cr five in number, are 

 white, faintly marked with reddish brown. 



THE TITS. 



This important family, from which the last species 

 has been somewhat arbitrarily separated, consists of one 

 English genus and several species, which are mostly familiar 

 to even the most ordinary observers. 



Family — Paridcu. 



Genus — Parus. P. major. The Great Tit, or 



Oxeye. 



P. atcr. Coal Tit. 



P. paliistris. Marsh Tit. 



P. ccernleiis. Blue Tit. 



P. cristatus. Crested Tit (rare). 



P. caiidatus. Long-tailed Tit. 



Great Tit, or Oxeye. — Bill black ; upper part of head 

 glossy black, joining the black throat b}' a line of the same 

 colour, bordering and forming a marked contrast to the 

 white of the face ; the nape is yellow, with a green tinge ; 

 the back olive, and the rump pale ashen grey. The breast 

 and bell}^ are yellowish green, divided down the centre by 

 a black line. The female is smaller, and of a duller shade 

 throughout ; the breast line, too, is shorter and narrower 

 than in the case of the male. Length, nearly 6 inches ; 

 tail, 2i. 



Coal Tit. — Upper part of head and neck black ; 

 back of the head and nape, also cheeks and sides of neck, 



