79 



THE OOLOGlST. 



Nesting of the Tufted Tit. 



{Liyphophnnrs bicohr.) 



JiY .1. WARBEN .lACuBS. WAYNESBUUCl, P.V. 



This active little fellow is kuowu in this 

 locality as the Tom Tit. lu winter they 

 seem to be (jnite tame, and will allow a close 

 approa<-b. 



■ During the winter of '82 one entered our 

 lutchcn througli a broken pane of glass in 

 the wiud')W. They seem to go in pairs, the 

 year around, and in winter and early spring 

 they are not uncommon in most portions 

 of our town. They may be seen s\viugino; 

 from twig to twig in the maple and other 

 ornamental trees that border on tlie pave- 

 ment, or hopping about the ground hunt- 

 ing seeds and crumbs. Always paying no 

 attention to the crowd of enraged and 

 scolding English Sparrows, who seem to 

 think the trees and gardens all their own . 



As the winter weai-s away. Owl and Hawk 

 nesting comes: and as I tramp through the 

 woods paying my respects to these birds of 

 prey, the Tufted Tit is ever with me, mak- 

 ing his presence known by his cheering 

 notes, or by scratching and digging in the 

 leaves, after the manner of the Towhee 

 Bunting. 



By and by Tom and his wife go t(j house- 

 keeiJiug First they investigate all the old 

 "snags," "stubs,'" knotholes and the 

 deserted homes of the Woodpecker. After 

 finding sauitable nesting place, they 

 gather leaves, grass, fur, wool, moss etf^., 

 and pile it in a mass on the bottom of the 

 cavity. Vpon this they construct a neat 

 cup-shaped nest of leaves, gra>^n and 

 ha'r. 



On May 13, '88, I was out collecting, and 

 after passing through two large pieces of 

 woodland, was returning home bv tlie near- 

 est route, which lay through a very small 

 tract of timber. When about half way 

 tlironjh, I heard the scolding notes of the 

 Titmouse a few rods in advance. Preneutly 

 a pan- of these birds ajiproached us, coming 

 from the vicinity of a small oak ''snag'' 

 nbout 15 feet high. Ou examination, I 

 found it would be hard to '' shin."' as there 

 was but one branch, and it a small half 



dead one near the top. After .some 

 difficulty I managed to get hold of the limb 

 and draw myself up. Imagine my delight 

 when I peeped down into the cavity and 

 counted six beautiful eggs. 



A friend who was with me passed me uj) 

 the hatchet with which I cut oflf a good 

 portion of the top. Then I proceeded to 

 to take out the eggs, which to my sui-jirisea 

 numbered seven instead of six. The wall of 

 the liest had at first hidden one from view. 

 The nest was made of leaves, fine strips of 

 bark and a small amount of fur and moss. 

 The eggs were perfectly fresh an \ are white 

 with a slight roseate tinge, covered, mostly 

 at the larger end, with b )ld blotches and 

 spots of reddish brown and lilac. Measure- 

 ment, .fi7by.54, .68 by .53. .68 by 55, 

 .69 by .54, .70 by .54, .70 by .54 and 

 .69 by .54. 



On the afternoon of the 14tli I was out 

 searching for a nest of the White-brea.sted 

 Nuthatch, when I saw a pair of Titmice 

 feeding near a small oak stub which was 

 hollow at the top. As this was the same 

 cavity in which I found, in '87, a nest con- 

 taining three eggs of the Titmouse and one 

 of the Cowbird, I thought it would be to 

 my interest to examine it again. 

 ITpon climbing lip and looking down into the 

 cavity I could see a set of six beautiful eggs. 

 Thinking it possible the set imcomplete, I 

 left it a Uvf d lys. When I returned on the 

 16th, I foiind tlie old bird sitting on the 

 eggs. No amount of threatening and face- 

 making would induce her to leave: so I put 

 my h:iud underneath her and lifted her out. 

 The nest contained the same number that 

 it did on the 14th. They were fresh an<l in 

 color, size and shape closely resc?nd)led the 

 set of six collected on the 13 h. 



The nest'was made of leaves, gr.iss, fine 

 strips of V)ark and a small amount of hair 

 and moss, eight feet from the gi-ouud. 



The next nest was found on May 18. com- 

 posed of leaves and hair, jjlaced in cavity in 

 dead beech, twelve feet from the ground. 

 The cavity was in the side <,f the tree and 

 was excavated by the birds themselves. 



The ejgs are six. pure white, with fine 

 spots of reddish brown and lilac scattered 



