134 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



beech-mast, birch seeds and various nuts are carried to a 

 convenient perch, where, holding them with one foot, the bird 

 hacks out the contents. Mr. Kearton states that it can even 

 smash the shells of hazel nuts when these are germinating. A 

 favourite food is the larva of Cynips in the marble gall ; galls 

 with holes pecked to the central chamber lie littered under the 

 oaks. The spangle galls are pecked from the oak leaves in 

 order to reach the larvse within, and I have seen a Great Tit 

 chase a windblown, spangled leaf and catch it in mid-air. 

 Fungi infested with beetles and dipterous larvse are pulled to 

 bits, and in the garden, where occasionally fruit trees are raided, 

 sunflower seeds are much appreciated. Bud-destruction is a 

 "crime" of the Great Tit, but the leaf scales are torn off to 

 reach '* the worm in the bud." It is even accused of murdering 

 other small birds, driving its bill into their skulls to feed upon 

 the brain ; most of the evidence is, however, founded on cases 

 that have occurred in aviaries, when, perhaps, the occupants 

 were not supplied with sufficient variety of food. Bees are not 

 immune from attack, and occasionally bee-keepers suffer ; the 

 half-stupefied humble-bees sipping the lime-honey frequently 

 fall victims. 



Any hole will suit the Great Tit for its nest ; the size matters 

 little. A large cavity is filled with grass, leaves and moss, and 

 in the woods is lined with hair, rabbit fur and Pheasant feathers ; 

 a small hole contains nothing more than a felted mass of moss 

 and hair. Holes in trees, walls, rocks and stumps are usual 

 situations, but a letter-box, pump, or inverted flower-pot will 

 serve. In one iron pump bi*ds, though not always the same 

 pair, have nested for very many years, although the pump is 

 regularly used and the piston passes right through the nest. 

 The bird sits closely, and if handled will hiss and bite, and 

 sometimes has to be lifted before it will leave the eggs or young, 

 ^^hich when the brood is large it cannot cover completely. 

 Six or seven is the ordinary clutch, but I have found fifteen in 



