TUFTED TITMOUSE 397 



Again she is over where he curried his horse or butchered his pig, in 

 quest of hair." 



But the titmouse is not content with picking up stray hairs, or even 

 bunches of fur from dead animals, and often becomes bold enough to 

 collect this needed nesting material from living mammals, including 

 human beings, 



J. Harris Reed (1897) noticed a tufted titmouse that was apparently 

 trying to drive a red squirrel away. "The squirrel was lying flat on the 

 upper side of a large sloping limb, and the Titmouse would approach 

 cautiously from behind and catch at its tail. It was not long before I 

 noticed that the bird had collected quite a mouthful of the hairs, with 

 which it flevv' off to a hole near by where it was deposited." 



Ward Reed (1927) v/rites: "While walking through the woods look- 

 ing for Crows' nests about the first of May, I came upon an unusual 

 sight. On a branch of a tree a few feet from the ground sat a Wood- 

 chuck (Marmota monax), while bobbing up and down above it a tufted 

 Titmouse (Baeolophus hicolor) was engaged in plucking hair from its 

 back. On a near-by twig the bird's mate was perched, with its mouth 

 already full of hair, and in a few minutes they flew away together." 



Mrs. Vitae Kite (1925) generously allowed an aggressive titmouse to 

 help himself to some of her silvery locks. "Without the least warning 

 he lit squarely on top of my head, giving me such a start that it was 

 with great difficulty I controlled myself and sat still. At first I thought 

 he was trying to frighten me away but soon changed my mind, when he 

 began working and pulling at my hair with all his might. Now my hair 

 has been very white for many years, but I still have plenty of it. and was 

 more than willing to divide with this little bird, so I steadied myself and 

 'held fast' while that energetic 'Tom' had the time of his life gathering 

 'wool' to line his nest, for that was what T now felt sure he was doing. 

 He didn't seem to have much luck with the coils on top, so he worked 

 around over my ear, where there were short loose hairs, and I could 

 hear and feel him snip-snip as he severed them — not one by one, but in 

 bunches, it seemed to me." 



Even man is not immune to such attacks, for E. Irwin Sm.ith (1924) 

 had a similar experience. He was seated on a stump on the edge of 

 some woods, v>ath his hat oflf, when he noticed a titmouse flitting about 

 his head. "It flew back into the bushes, only to return and flutter above 

 my head as before. Yet the third time it came back, but this time, instead 

 of flying away again, it lit on my head, and, in a very diligent manner, 

 began to pick the hairs therefrom. The pricking of its sharp little toes 

 on mv scaln and the vigor of the hair-pulling was a trifle too much for 

 my self-control, and I instinctively moved my head. Away it flew, but 

 onlv for a moment, and then it was back at work, harder than before." 



