466 BRITISH BIRDS. 
be taken into consideration, if a view of the parent birds cannot possibly 
be obtained. From small eggs of the Nuthatch the eggs of the Great Tit 
are very difficult to be distinguished; the only sure guide is to see the 
parents belonging to a nest ere taking the eggs. 
In many instances the Great Tit rears two broods in the year. The 
actions of the parent birds when the nest is approached are very bold. 
They will endeavour to repel your intrusion by angry cries; and should 
the sitting bird be caught on the nest, as it most easily can be, it will hiss 
and bite vigorously without any show of fear. The young birds are almost 
exclusively fed on caterpillars and grubs, which the old birds obtain from 
the neighbouring trees and bushes. 
The food of the Great Tit is composed of insects of various kinds. It 
also eats small seeds, which it often shells by placing them in a crevice 
and hammering them with its beak like a Nuthatch. Like the Crows, it 
is almost omnivorous, and is very fond of picking a bone. Dixon has 
known fields, which had been manured with refuse from slaughterhouses, 
frequented by large numbers of Tits, prominent amongst them being 
the present species, which fed on scraps of flesh on the bones and even 
on entrails. It was a curious sight to see such tree-haunting birds 
hopping about on the ground and feeding in company with Starlings 
and Rooks. The Great Tit also feeds on fruit, as may often be noted in 
autumn. Its young, however, are almost entirely fed on small caterpillars 
and grubs. It is also said sometimes to kill small birds by repeated blows 
on the head, and then to eat their brains; but such instances are certainly 
far from common. , 
The notes of this bird are varied ; and in spring it is often heard to utter 
a double note, peek-ur, peek-ur, very much like the monotonous sound of a 
rusty axle of a cart or wheelbarrow crecking with every revolution of the 
wheel. Its other notes are a si, si, si, or a metallic ping, ping, and a harsh 
spluttering chur-r-r-r-si. Its only attempt at song is heard in spring, 
and consists of a loud but not unmusical note or two, The flight of 
the Great Tit is undulating, uncertain at times, and performed with quick 
beats of the wings with occasional long pauses. Although gifted with no 
small powers of wing, it rarely flies for long distances, but goes in little 
jerking flights from tree to tree. 
Tn autumn our resident Great Tits undoubtedly receive accessions to 
their numbers by migrants. From what may be gathered from the annual 
reports on migration made by numerous observers on our lighthouses and 
light-ships, “'Titmice” appear sometimes as early as the first week in 
August ; but notes specially referrmg to the present species on the east 
coast of England show that the second weck in October is an average date 
for their appearance, as is the case with the Golderest. It would also 
appear that these little travellers sometimes choose to cross the sea by 
i ii i i tt bit, 
