58 



COAL TIT. 



it assumes when searching for food are quite as 

 amusing, and Hke it, it consumes a great number of 

 insects and caterpillars ; it also displays a great fond- 

 ness for small kernels and seeds, particularly the seeds 

 of the pines and firs. Its note, too, very much re- 

 sembles the " zit, zit " of the Blue Tit. Like the two 

 preceding birds it remains with us throughout the 

 year, but its numbers are increased by migrations. 

 By some naturalists this bird has been thought to be 

 the same as the Marsh Tit, but it is now recognised as 



COAL TIT. 



a distinct class, the plumage showing a decided differ- 

 ence. It may be caged, but it is no songster. 



The nest is usually made in a hole in a tree, but 

 not so far from the ground as the others of its class. 

 Sometimes it is made in a cavity of a wall near the 

 base, in a hollow bank, or among the twisted roots 

 of a tree. Two years ago, when out for a stroll with a 

 friend one afternoon, I was surprised to see a Coal 

 Tit rise, as it seemed, out of the ground at my feet. 

 On examining the spot I found an old rat hole partly 



