THE BLACK-CAP TITMOUSE. 



183 



Hudson's Bay Titmouse, upper fig. 

 Black-cap Titmouse, lower fig. 



winter as through the summer, and it is deservedly one 

 of the greatest favorites. It 

 commences building as early as 

 the second week in May. The 

 nest is placed in a hole exca- 

 vated in a dead tree or stump. 

 This hole is, like that of the 

 Woodpecker, gradually widened 

 at the bottom, and is about nine 

 or ten inches in depth. The" 

 nest is constructed of soft moss 

 and the hairs of different ani- 

 mals. One beautiful specimen 

 that I found in the northern 

 part of Maine is composed of 

 the hair of the common deer, 

 moose, and hare, a few feathers 

 of the Ruffed Grouse, and a few fragments of soft mosses. 

 They are woven into a warm and comfortable tenement. 



The eggs are from six to ten in number, usually about 

 six. They are of a nearly pure-white color, with a faint 

 reddish tint, and are spotted thickly, at the greater end, 

 with markings of reddish-brown : their form is nearly spher- 

 ical, and their dimensions vary from .65 by .52 inch to .60 

 by .50 inch. Two broods are often reared in the season. 



The habits of this little bird are so well known, and have 

 been written about so much, that any description here is 

 almost superfluous. It is eminently kindly and sociable in 

 its disposition ; and, although almost always in company 

 with other birds, — such as the Golden-crested and Ruby- 

 crowned Wrens, Nuthatches, &c., — it is never seen quar- 

 relling with them, but fraternizes with them in the most 

 cordial manner. Often, when seated in the woods, have I 

 been surrounded by them ; and their curiosity to learn the 

 cause of my presence and my employment was so great, 

 that they would often perch on a twig within two feet of my 



