Tits at Work 



wrenching a twig from a tree : yet, if this is 

 dropped while being carried to the nest, the 

 bird seems to lose all further interest in it. 



By the end of the first day's work at the 

 nest, the pair of tits had left quite a respectable 

 collection of moss on the floor. This was 

 swept away next morning. On the second day 

 much less was dropped ; practice had taught the 

 tits how best to enter the nest hole. 



It will be noticed that I speak of "tits." I 

 believe I am correct in so doing ; I think that 

 both cock and hen work at the nest. I cannot 

 say for certain, for I am not able to distinguish 

 a lady- from a gentleman-tit. I never saw 

 them together at the nest, but I noticed that 

 the bird bringing material to it sometimes flew 

 direct from a tree and at others alighted on 

 the projecting end of a roof beam which the 

 carpenters had been too lazy to saw off. It 

 is my belief that the bird that used to alight 

 on the beam was not the same as the one that 

 flew direct from the tree. Birds are creatures 

 of habit. If you observe a mother bird feed- 

 ing her young, you will notice that she, when 

 not disturbed, almost invariably approaches the 

 nest in a certain fixed manner. She will perch, 

 time after time, on one particular branch near 

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