COAL-TITMOUSE. 



PASSERES. 



489 



PAIiflKE. 



Parus ater, Linnseus*. 

 THE COAL-TITMOUSE. 



Parus (iter. 



The Coal-Titmouse or Coal-Mouse, to use its earliest 

 English iiamef, is alraost as generally distributed in this 



* Syst. Nat. E.l. 12, i. p. 341 (1766). 



f So Merictt, in 1667 (Pinax Rerum Naturaliura Britannicarum, p. 178), 

 called this bird, latinizing its name Carbonarius. The French Cliarhonnicre, 

 applied to this as well as to the Great Titmouse, equally shews the meaning of 

 the word which most later authors have spelt "Cole"; but as it has clearly 

 nothing to do with cole, the plant (as found in co/fwort and coteeed), and we 

 have long given up spelling the name of the fuel we burn otherwise than " coal ", 

 it is wrong to keefi " Cole " as the distinguishing prefix of this Titmouse. It 

 may be urged that the Grermans set us the example, writing Kohl-Meise and not 

 Kolilc-Mekc ; but here the e is doubtless dropped byway of abbreviation or 

 euphony. It may also be remarked that the second syllable of the word "Tit- 

 VOL. I. 3 R 



