396 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



M. G. Vaiden, of Rosedale, Miss., reports an unusually lofty nest of 

 the tufted titmouse that was located in a cavity of a black locust near 

 there some 97 feet above the ground. Another nest was found in a 

 gatepost about 8 feet up; it was composed of horsehair and a few 

 feathers. 



The nesting cavities occupied by this titmouse vary greatly in size 

 and shape, which means that in some cases a large quantity of material 

 has to be collected to fill up extra space. C. S. Brimley (1888) mentions 

 a nest that he found in a hollow in a small dogwood, near Raleigh, N. C. 

 "The opening of the hollow was about two feet from the ground, and 

 the hollow reached to the earth, but for half the distance three sides of 

 it were gone. So the birds had piled up moss, leaves, etc., from the 

 ground right up into the hole and then lined the nest at the top with 

 white cat fur and a few pieces of snakeskin, the eggs being at least 

 eighteen inches from the bottom of the nest." 



The material used to fill up large cavities consists largely of leaves, 

 preferably those that are damp enough to pack well without crumbling, 

 but not too wet; these are picked up near a brook, or in some damp 

 place in the woods. Lucy H. Upton (1916) made an interesting obser- 

 vation on the use of damp leaves by a titmouse that she was watching: 

 "Having chosen a damp brown oak leaf from the ground, it flew with it 

 into a bare tree, and, holding the leaf with its claw firmly against the 

 branch, it drew itself to its full height, raised its head like a Woodpecker, 

 and with all the might of its tiny frame gave a forcible blow to the leaf 

 with its bill. This process was kept up nearly half an hour, ♦ * ♦ At 

 last its purpose seemed to be accomplished. It rested, and lifted the leaf 

 by the petiole. We then saw that the hammering had made it into a firm 

 brown ball nearly as large as an oak gall." 



The bird flew away with the leaf and probably placed it in its nest. 



Freda L. Hood (1916) adds by way of explanation, that these birds 

 "line their nests with a pulpy substance not unlike a sponge. They 

 carry a large number of these damp leaf-balls to their nest-hole and 

 there pull them into shreds. * * * The Titmouse uses this sort of lining 

 for its nest only when they build in damp weather. They do not seem 

 to be able to use dry leaves in this manner." 



R. B. McLaughlin (1888) adds that about moist places "she gets a 

 supply of green moss and mixes in a modicum of dirt. After she has 

 accumulated the desired amount of such materials, we will find her at 

 the bed of the flying squirrel (Pteromys volucella), or some other 

 mammal which collects the thin inner bark of trees, and she does not 

 hesitate to appropriate as much as she needs. Then she is oflf for the 

 farmer's barn, and any bunch of cornsilks about his granary is used. 



