TUFTED TITMOUSE 395 



Not a few pairs inhabit the abandoned holes of downy, hairy, red-belHed; 

 red-headed, and pileated woodpeckers and the cavities of the flicker. I 

 have three records of their breeding in crude wooden bird boxes in town 

 yards; and one instance v/as a hollow metal pipe, 4 inches in diameter. 

 beside the yard of a farmhouse." 



He thinks this bird shows a preference for l^eech trees for nesting 

 sites, but he has found nests in white, red, and blue oaks, tupelos, syca- 

 mores, pines, hemlocks, apple trees, mulberries, water and sugar maples, 

 yellow locusts, white ashes, and chestnuts. "It V\'ili come out from cover 

 and nest in fence posts along roads and borders of fields, and occasionally 

 it selects some stub or post in an open pasture. The run of pairs prefer 

 the woods in which to breed, but not a fevv^ enter and nest in orchards, 

 groves, parks, and even shade trees along community streets. Nests are 

 found at both low and high elevations ; they range from 3 feet up to as 

 many as 85 or 90 feet. They will continue to use the identical cavity 

 for years, if unmolested. 



"Nest building begins late in April, although birds are seen to carry 

 odd leaves and trash into holes even as early as late in March. They 

 begin by carrying in strips of bark and dead deciduous leaves; those of 

 white oak and maple are common. Then they add sprays of green moss 

 and dry grass, and round out the interior with pads of hair from cattle, 

 rabbit, deer mouse, and others, and bits of rags, strings, or cloth." 



In South Carolina, according to Wayne (1910), "this species deposits 

 its eggs in natural cavities of trees or in the deserted holes of the smaller 

 woodpeckers and does not appear to excavate a hole for itself. It seems 

 to have a preference for hollows in chinquapin and dogwood trees, and 

 the hole ranges from four to forty-five feet above the ground. While 

 nest-building, the birds carry large quantities of material at every trip 

 and one generally accomjmnies the other to and from the site. The nest 

 is composed of v.'ool, cotton, hair, leaves, fibrous bark and snake skins, 

 the last material being indispensable to this species, as it is to the 

 Crested Flycatcher. * * * The birds are the closest of sitters and have 

 to he removed from the nest before it can be examined. Only one brood 

 is raised and these follow the parents for m.any months." 



Mr. V/ayne (1910) also tells of an imsuccessfiil attempt of a pair of 

 these titmice to nest in a tuft of Spanish moss. The nest v/as built in a 

 very large mass of the hanging moss (Tillandsia usneoidcs) and five eggs 

 were laid, but a violent rainstorm occurred and the nest and eggs were 

 blown out. The bird was undismayed, rebuilt the nest again in the same 

 bunch of moss, and laid three eggs ; but she was disappointed again, for 

 another storm came up before the set was completed, and the nest and 

 eggs were found on the ground the following day. 



