Henninger, on the Parid.e of Germany. 9 



Old hollow stumps, if handy, are their most common nesting 

 sites, but the scarcity of these has driven this species under 

 ground. On July 17, 1889, we found a nest in an old deserted 

 badger hole, the nest an arm's length under the ground. It 

 was neatly made of horse hair, cattle and badger hair, grass, 

 moss, and a few feathers. At another time I saw a bird flying 

 into a mouse hole near a roadsi'le, but this nest, too, had no 

 eggs. Sometimes even heaps of stones are utilized. Nesting 

 occurs in May, but on May 20 we have found a nest containing 

 eleven young about ready to fly. From six to eleven eggs con- 

 stitute a set. The eggs measure 15.5 by 11.5 millimeters. 



The Brown Cole Tit is one of the last to join the titmouse 

 assembly in fall, and one of the first to leave it in the middle 

 of March ; in fact this species has fcAver distinguishing features 

 than any of the rest. 



The Blue Tit (Cyanistes coeruleus) is the most beautiful 

 colored one of them all. The peculiar blending of colors, the 

 tameness, and confidence it places in man, the sagacity and 

 cunning, and the omnipresence of this species make it well 

 known to all. While it seems to prefer the deciduous trees to 

 the coniferous woods, I have found it equally abundant ia 

 both except during the breeding season. Its strong inclina- 

 tion to quarrel is a characteristic which we must deplore. Not 

 only will the birds fight among themselves to a bitter finish, 

 but they will even kill other birds weaker than themselves ; 

 indeed, they do not seem afraid to battle with species of 

 greater strength and size. But what of it ! Nesting sites are 

 few and the trouble of finding them great and time consuming, 

 and why should the intruder live? A few strokes of the beak 

 crush the skull of the intruding rival, the would-be robber of 

 the long-sought home, and the trouble is ended. Who wnll 

 blame the Blue Tit if it defends to the death its house and 

 home ? Moreover, why should \vc persecute the Blue Tit on 

 that account? Nature always maintains a right balance and 

 will adjust itself if man will only not meddle, for 'only man is 

 vile.' There is too much rubbish written about useful and 

 detrimental species, all wholly from the standpoint of the sel- 



