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of keeping it imprisoned in either cage or aviary if 

 there be a single weak place in the wiring. It is, like 

 the Blue Tit, incessantly active, and the aviary needs 

 to be exceedingly well-wired to hold it. This species 

 is not so generally seen abont onr houses as the two 

 above-mentioned, living mostly in woods, especially 

 the pine woods of Scotland. Like the Blue Tits, 

 these birds are distinctly gregarious in habit, and in 

 favoured localities they are to be seen in quite con- 

 siderable troops, seeming to move about from tree to 

 tree with one accord as if in instantaneous obedience 

 to the command of a leader. The nest is mostly 

 found in holes in banks or walls, or, less frequently, 

 in holes in trees. In captivity it should be fed on 

 insect food ; but it will eat the kernels of hemp and 

 sunflower seed after the manner of the Great Tit, 

 and these should always be offered, if only for the 

 occupation afforded to the bird in the breaking of the 

 shell. 



The Marsh Tit (^Pariis palustris) is perhaps a little 

 less common than the Cole Tit. Not much could be 

 said of this bird which would not apply to the subject 

 of the previous paragraph. It is equally tiny, equally 

 acrobatic, equally gregarious, and lives in exactly the 

 same style, both as regards its food and its nesting 

 places. It is said of the Marsh Tit, however, that 

 pairs once mated remain so for life. The colouring is 

 sober, and the plumage is principally remarkable for 

 the distinct black cap, from wdiicli the bird has 

 derived the occasional name of Blackcap Tit, or, 

 sometimes, simply Blackcap. The Marsh Tit is 

 frequently confounded with the Cole Tit, but this 

 should not be so, as, although neither can boast of any 

 brightness of colouring, the difference in plumage is 

 very considerable. 



The Long-tailed Tit {^Acredula rosed) is the most 

 difi&cult of all the Tits to keep in health in captivity. 



