TITMICE. 109 



run like partridges or quails, and do not hop like the rest of their tribe. They 

 make a circular nest, composed of moss and grasses, in the cleft of some rock, 

 and always with a southern aspect. The female lays five or six eggs. 



Some species belonging to this family {Sericornis) are peculiar to the con- 

 tinent of Australia, where they frequent the " brushes" and humid places, and 

 search upon the ground beneath the rotten leaves or under stones and the 



Fig. 56.— The Hedg2 Sparrow {Accentor modularis). 



fallen trunks of trees for the insects that are to be met with in such places ; 

 sometimes they are seen hopping actively about from one small branch of a 

 tree to another, or perched on some prominent twig, whence they occasionally 

 give utterance to a very feeble song, and, if alarmed, immediately conceal them- 

 selves amidst the foliage of the bushes. Their nest is generally suspended 

 from a slender branch, and has the appearance of a mass of moss intermixed 

 with other vegetable materials, in the middle of which the female deposits two 

 or three eggs. The entrance to this remarkable nest is by a small aperture on 

 the side. 



Siib-Faniily V. 

 THE TITMICE. TARIN/E. 



General Characteristics.— BUI strong, slightly compressed; first primary short, 

 second shorter than the first, fourth and fifth longest ; hind claw strongest and most 

 hooked ; tarsus short. 



The birds composing this sub-family are distributed through- 

 out Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. They usually fre- 

 quent woods and gardens, and are very lively little birds, flitting 



