224 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



marking the site of a battery now silent in the death of a lost cause. 

 In early April these newly mated pairs may be seen examining every 

 cavity, knot-hole, or even the cannon mouth of the batteries marking 

 the position of the blue, or gray, of the struggle of '61-'65, selecting a 

 suitable site for a summer home. 



Photo by H. K. Caldwell. 

 NEST AND EGGS OF TUFTED TITMOI'SE. 



[The entrance ^'as a small knot hole about fifteen inehes above the eggs. The tree has 

 been {-at away to show the interior. 



The bird is especially bold in defence of its home, refusing often to 

 leave the nest under any provocation. Upon approach to the nest the 

 female bird prepares for a stubborn defense of her home. She threat- 

 ens the intruder with hisses, and flogs, that might easily be mistaken 

 for those of a goose. If these threats do not avail, the little mother 

 will bury her head in her mossy nest there to await the destruction that 

 seems hanging over her home. 



The two photos herewith were taken in April, 1905. The nest was 

 placed in a knot-hole near the butt of a large oak at the foot of Mission- 

 ary Ridge near the historic city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

 The nest was typical, and was placed at a depth of about fifteen inches 

 from the small knot-hole which served as a door. I attacked the tree 

 with hatchet and saw, hoping to be able to remove enough of the body 



