334 THE COLE TIT. 



out constantly with caterpillars. I lay down six yards off and 

 watched them long before I disturbed them. On May 25th, 

 1862, I saw a cole-tit fly down and disappear in the herbage at 

 the Allan Hill strip of larch trees (now cut down). On looking I 

 found an old larch stump with a hole in it covered by the 

 grass. I tore away the herbage and rotten wood ; about a foot 

 down the stump I saw a dozen young gorbs gaping up ; after 

 peering closely down the hole under ground I saw the old bird 

 further down. It came up, its wee eyes glancing fire, and 

 dashed its wings at my hand, and retreated down again — it did 

 this thrice. At last, as I stood back, it came deliberately out — 

 as in triumph — and flew up on a tree. I could not help 

 thinking upon the courage of this little tit, for — except the blue- 

 tit, the missel thrush, and some of my tame pigeons — I never 

 met a bird that actually disputed my right to touch its young 

 like this little Trojan ; for hawks, carrion crows, and owls have 

 slunk away as I climbed up to their nests when they had 

 young. The young were mere gorbs, so I carefully arranged their 

 hiding-place which held the tit's dearest treasure, and left it to 

 rear its link of creation in peace. On May 9th, 1863, I got a 

 nest at Mountmelville in the hole of a beech tree, with seven 

 slightly-sitten eggs ; the entrance was five feet from the ground, 

 but the nest was two feet down in the trunk. I got the eggs 

 up by splitting a thin stick, then whittling each side to a 

 shaving, to form a sort of forceps, by gently pressing it over each 

 egg. I got them all out safe, but replaced them when found 

 to be sitten ; this bird would not fly out though poked with the 

 stick, nor defend her eggs — so all are not alike. On the 16th 

 May (same year) I got a nest with six raw young ones in the 

 trunk of a cut tree at Kinaldy. On the 31st I visited my 

 little family again ; they were quite ripe ; they take three weeks 

 from hatching to flying. I watched the old ones ; they came 

 every minute with caterpillars, insects, or larvae ; they had a 

 particular twig on which they alighted before darting down to 

 the hole. I lay quite close, they were not afraid, paid no heed 

 to me ; on coming out they flew away in one direction and 

 returned the same, as if their supply of food was there. I 

 came back on the 3rd of June, and they were flown — so they take 

 nineteen days to be ripe. There was one rotten egg besides the 

 six young ones. The number of eggs or young varies. On 

 May 26th, 1864, I got a nest in the stump of a tree at Prior- 

 muir with twelve deep-sitten eggs ; and another at Kinglassie 

 on the 28th, with eleven ripe young ones — also in the hole of a 



