448 PARUS PALUSTRIS. 



and weight. Those of the nuthatch, creeper, wren, yellow- 

 wren, wood-wren and chiflf-chafF, all agree in their markings, 

 and are so like those of the Titmice that it is scarcely possible 

 to separate them with certainty, if once mixed together. It is 

 somewhat remarkable, all these birds breed in holes, or make 

 a covered nest." 



As this bird is not often met with in the neighbourhood of 

 Edinburgh, I desired my friend Mr Weir to make as many 

 observations respecting its habits as he could, and the result 

 has been the following notice, which is not less interesting than 

 the many others with which this volume is enriched. 



" In this neighbourhood the Marsh Titmice are seldom seen. 

 During the long period of fourteen years I have known only 

 two of their nests. On the 22d of July 1838, I discovered one 

 of them in which were five young ones. It was built in the 

 hole of the trunk of an old and decayed Scotch fir, which was 

 standing in the middle of a plantation. The ground round it 

 was very swampy, I have sent you the nest and part of the 

 tree, as you will describe its structure better than I can. 



" On the morning of the 22d of July I watched the old ones 

 for a considerable time. During the course of an hour, they 

 fed their brood, which were about seven days old, generally 

 eighteen, nineteen, and twenty times. Their food consisted of 

 caterpillars. When I went near their abode, the female came 

 within fifteen or twenty yards of me, but the male was very 

 shy, and remained at a considerable distance. 



" In the same plantation, on Saturday the 28th of July, in 

 the hole of the trunk of an old tree excavated by the Titmice 

 nearly in the same way as the former one, I discovered a nest 

 with five eggs, which were white with reddish-brown spots, 

 most numerous towards the larger end. I put her out of it, 

 to examine them ; she was however so shy that she did not re- 

 turn, which is not the case with the other members of this 

 family.'" 



The portion of the tree bfought to me by Mr Weir has a 

 diameter of seven inches. It is in a state of decay, the wood 

 being of a brownish-yellow colour, soft, and friable, but still 

 enclosed by the equally decayed bark. There are two verticils 



