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upon such grain and seeds as it can find. A farm or 

 poultry yard is sure to have Bhie Tits, and a bone 

 hung to a piece of string will soon have its little colony 

 of these beautiful birds industriously pecking at the 

 morsels of meat left on it. In plumage it is quite the 

 most beautiful of the family, the colors ranging 

 through different shades of blue, to green, yellow, and 

 white, while the head is conspicuously ornamented by 

 a narrowband of blue-black, separating the white of 

 the cheeks from the azure blue of the neck and the 

 pale yellow of the throat. In the male a distinct black 

 band runs from the beak through each eye, and is the 

 principal distinguishing mark of sex, this line being 

 much less distinctl}^ defined in the hen. The colors of 

 the hen, also, are less brilliant than those of her mate. 

 The nesting place is usually a hole in a tree or wall, 

 but the most extraordinary places are sometimes 

 chosen by the Blue Tit — pumps, even when in daily 

 use, post boxes, tin cans, bottles, and almost every 

 kind of receptacle occasionally being occupied for the 

 purpose, and I have somewhere read of a Blue Tit's 

 nest having been built in the jaws of a skeleton 

 of a man hung in chains. They are fairly easy to keep 

 in captivity if provided with a good insectivorous 

 mixture, such as I shall mention later, but they require 

 very close watching when first caught or they will die 

 in a few hours. It was once ni}^ experience to send, 

 in answer to an advertisement in a " fancy" paper, for 

 two pairs each of Blue Tits, Marsh Tits, and Cole 

 Tits. I duly received two cigar boxes, each divided 

 by partitions into three spaces, and the six compart- 

 ments each contained two dead birds. I have often 

 suspected that some at least of the unfortunate 

 prisoners must have been dead when packed by the 

 advertiser. Afterwards I have always caught my Tits 

 for myself or bought them after inspection. They are 

 very easily caught in an ordinary trap cage baited with 

 a live mealworm ; in fact I remember on one occasion, 



