THE KING OF THE TITS 



"Among the blind the one-eyed is king," says 

 the French proverb ; and among our tits, whose 

 very name, etymologists tell us, is a record of 

 their smallness, the great tit (Parus major) passes 

 for a big bird. Yet he is really less in size than 

 a sparrow, and it is his striking dress, black 

 hood, white shirt-collar, French-grey coat, and 

 yellow waistcoat, which makes him such a striking 

 member of the small-bird fraternity, especially as 

 his consort wears the same clothes. 



Fortunately, unlike so many of our more 

 beautifully-coloured birds, he is very common, 

 not only in the country, but in towns wherever 

 trees may be found ; even in London he may be 

 seen at times, and I have noted him as late as 

 midsummer, so that he probably breeds there. 

 He is better suited for town life than almost 

 any of our small birds, being most omnivorous 

 in appetite, and active and plucky enough to be 

 in comparatively little danger from the sparrow, 

 though that bird's power of combination makes 

 him irresistible to such species as his strong bill 

 and bulldog courage are not sufficient to over- 

 come in single combat. 



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