144 DENTIKOSTRES. 



are formed in tlie lioles of decayed trees or old walls, 

 and are composed of moss and lined witli hair and 

 feathers. Others select the fork of a tree or the 

 middle of a bush, wherein they construct an oval- 

 shaped nest, made of lichens and wool intermixed, 

 and lined with feathers. The eggs are usually from 

 six to ten in number. 



The majority of the Titmice — especially those 

 which frequent woods, thickets, and orchards — are 

 courageous, and even ferocious ; they will attack the 

 Owl with greater boldness than any other bird, being 

 always foremost in darting upon him, and trying to 

 peck at his eyes. They express their little rage 

 and fury by the swelling of their plumes, by violent 

 attitudes and precipitate motions. They peck 

 sharply the hand that holds them, and seem by their 

 cries to call others to their assistance — an appeal 

 which usually attracts them in crowds. There are 

 many traits in their manners and character resem- 

 bling those of the Shrikes, Pies, and Crows ; they 

 have the same appetite for flesh, and the same 

 custom of tearing the food to pieces before they eat 

 it. Though fierce, they are social, seek out the 

 company of then' own species, and form little flocks, 

 more or less numerous ; and if any accident should 

 separate them, they call each other mutually, and are 

 soon reunited. They seek then- food in common ; 

 visit the clefts of rocks and walls, and tear, with 

 their bills, lichens or the moss of trees, to find 

 insects or their eggs. They also feed on seeds, but 

 do not break them, like the Bullfinches and Linnets ; 

 they place them under their claws, and pierce them 

 with their bills, like the Nuthatches, with which they 

 sometimes associate during the winter. 



The type of this sub -family — 



The Great Tit {Parus major), is a handsome, vivacious 

 little fellow, common m Ensjland ; during the summer 

 frequenting woods and shrubberies, and in the winter 

 resortmg to gardens and orchards, clinging to the branches, 



