228 The Field Naturalist's Quarterly August 



The Blue Titmouse {Parus ccerulcus) is the commonest 

 species of another family whose members are all small. 

 This one we may see in town gardens as well as about 

 woods and parks. It is much smaller than a sparrow, and 

 may be seen flitting about amongst tall trees, low hedges, 

 the roof of our house or a street lamp-post, incessantly 

 going through acrobatic performances and prying into every 

 hole and corner for insect food. We see at once that it 

 has a lot of blue about its plumage, with some black and 

 white markings on head and throat, but the blue is so con- 

 spicuous that we notice nothing else. Indeed, it is the only 

 little bird that is noticeably blue. Now it is by this per- 

 petual restlessness that we know the titmice, and as soon 

 as we know the blue tit we will take a walk into the wood, 

 stand about under the trees, and we shall soon make the 

 acquaintance of other members of this family. There are 

 two more about the size of the blue tit, the coal titmouse 

 (P. ater) and the marsh titmouse (P. palustris'). 



And these, unfortunately for the novice, are very much 

 alike, and often associate together in small flocks in winter. 

 They are both of greyish colour above and dull white 

 below, have black heads and white cheeks, but the coal 

 titmouse has also a conspicuous white mark on the nape of 

 the neck. This is not present in the marsh titmouse, and 

 thus we always know one species from the other, that is 

 when these very restless little fellows will keep still long 

 enough to allow us a full view. 



The Long-Tailed Titmouse {Acredula caudatd) may often 

 be seen in company with other members of this very 

 sociable family. It is even smaller than the last three 

 species, but it has such a very long tail that it really seems 

 to be a larger bird. They are generally to be seen 

 in small parties of from six to ten. As they frequently 

 take little flights from tree to tree, flying with an undulat- 

 ing movement, their long tails give them a sort of over- 

 balanced appearance. They follow each other in single 

 file a few seconds apart. The markings of the bird's 

 plumage, chiefly black and white, are well defined, but, as in 

 so many other little birds, their habitat, movements, and 

 general appearance are the best guides to identify in the 



