I02 BLUE TITMOUSE. 



same pattern, but with bluish-slate back, blue-black crown, and more 

 intense coloration. In Central Russia our Blue Titmouse meets 

 with P. pkskii, a blue-backed pale form, with the belly pure white, 

 and only a pale yellow spot on the breast ; while in Siberia, Russia, 

 Poland, and casually in Eastern (Germany, we find the larger and 

 very beautiful Azure Titmouse, F. cyaiiiis, in which pale blue and 

 white are the prevailing colours. I mention this bird because live 

 specimens are not unfrequently brought to England, and, sooner 

 or later, there will probably be an attempt to add it to the 

 British list. 



The Blue Titmouse makes its nest in April, and generally selects 

 a hole in a wall or a tree ; but, exceptionally, many curious sites, 

 too numerous to mention, have been recorded. The bird defends her 

 nest with great pertinacity, hissing like a snake, and pecking at the 

 fingers of the intruder in a way which has gained for her the name 

 of " Billy-biter." The nest is composed of wool and moss, with 

 feathers and hair in varying proportions. The eggs, usually 7-8 (but 

 as many as 18 are on record), are white, spotted with light red — 

 more minutely than those of other Tits : average measurements 

 •58 by "45 in. Mr. Norgate says that this species and the Great 

 Titmouse may be encouraged to almost any extent by hanging up 

 suitable nesting-boxes. The young are fed largely with larvse of the 

 gooseberry- and winter-moths, Aphides and other insects ; while the 

 old bird also preys on the grubs of the wood-boring beetles, the 

 maggots from oak-galls, spiders, &c. In autumn it may perhaps 

 damage fruit to a small extent ; while in winter a meat-bone hung up 

 will always prove an attraction. Its note is a harsh c/iee, c/iee, chee. 



Adult male : forehead, and a line which runs backward over each 

 eye and encircles the head, white ; crown cobalt-blue ; a blue- 

 black band runs through the eye to the nape, where it meets a dark 

 blue band which, crossing the nape and encircling the white cheeks, 

 joins the bluish-black throat ; mantle and rump yellowish-green ; 

 tail and wings blue ; the coverts and tertials of the latter tipped 

 with white ; breast and abdomen sulphur-yellow, with a bluish-black 

 streak down the middle ; bill blackish ; legs and feet bluish-grey. 

 Length, 4-2 in. ; wing to the tips of 3rd, 4th, and longest quills 2*4 in. 

 The female is somewhat duller. The young exhibit less blue and 

 more yellow in their comparatively dingy plumage. 



