58 THE USEFUL BIRDS 



warning : see that your honest sons are made more honest, if 

 that be possible, by the absolute protection of its nest and 

 eggs. In every way encourage the bird to spend its time 

 about your gardens — not necessarily in them, but around 

 them. 



This little Tit, or so-called " Yellow-tail," to city people the 

 most familiar of country birds, is of small size, and even 

 appears to attract more notice than the Ground-Lark or 

 proper Pipit. The chrome-yellow of the upper tail coverts, 

 with apex of each rectrix barred with black, makes this little 

 grey bird a distinctly prominent one. The markings are only 

 noticeable when the birds, finding themselves disturbed on 

 the feeding ground, rise upon wing, and with blended voices 

 alight in the acacia. They quickly return to the grass, and 

 appear to have little fear of man. With the aid of their tiny 

 feet, the birds move rapidly along the ground in search of 

 insects. 



This species puts aside its gregarious habit about July, and 

 enters upon the work of building its nest, a structure that is 

 generally placed within 9 feet, or rarely over 12 feet, from the 

 ground. The house is most often one-chambered, dome 

 shaped, and with cup-like cavity fitted above, to which the 

 non- sitting bird retires when the shades of night have fallen 

 and the daily hunt for food is over. 



Occasionally two chambers will be formed, without an 

 upper cavity, one lined with care, the other roughly finished, 

 though no rule can be formulated as to which will receive the 

 eggs. At one time it is the upper, at another the lower 

 chamber. I believe the Cuckoo's action will often settle the 

 matter, for if the " parasite's" egg be deposited in one cavity 

 before the rightful owner lays its own, the Tit will deliber- 

 ately place its eggs in the other, with the result that the 

 Cuckoo's egg will not be hatched. In the case where a one- 

 chambered nest is utilized by the stranger, the Tit may cover 



