92 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



have not space to namC; such as pumps, cupboards 

 flowci'-pots, and the like. The bird will also readily 

 take possession of a box placed in a tree, as I have 

 many times experienced. The nest, made at varying 

 depths, is a slovenly and careless structure of moss and 

 dry grass, felted together with wool and hair, and lined 

 Avith feathers. The actions of the Blue Titmouse at the 

 nest do not differ in any important respect from those 

 of species already described. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Blue Titmouse vary from six to ten in 

 number, but clutches of a dozen are not very uncommon, 

 whilst as many as eighteen have been recorded. They 

 are pure white in ground colour, freckled and minutely 

 spotted with light red. The markings are usually very 

 small, most abundant round the large end of the q^^^ 

 where they form a zone. Average measurement, "58 

 inch in length, by "45 inch in breadth. Incubation, 

 performed by both parents, lasts fourteen days. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of the Blue 

 Titmouse so closely resemble those of allied species, 

 that the only safe means of authenticating them is to 

 identify the parents at the nest. As a rule the eggs of 

 this Titmouse are more minutely marked than those of 

 allied species, but the character is not a constant one. 



